On Monday, it was reported Stephen Curry had no interest in bolting Golden State when he becomes a free agent in 2017 – “As I am thinking right now, free agency isn’t really appealing to me because I love where I’m at.”
Tuesday Curry took fans’ questions on Facebook and said the same thing (the answer to this questions starts at the 2:30 mark).
What did you think he would say? He just won a title, and he certainly wouldn’t want to start up the rumor mill for no reason.
Curry is on ]a steal of a deal right now. He will make $11.4 million next season — the 54th highest paid player in the league (according to ESPN’s Marc Stein). The reason is when his contract extension came up, he was still battling the ankle injuries that plagued his early career — nobody was sure if he would get past that and be a steady player. It was a fair deal at the time; he got some security, and the Warriors bet on their star blossoming and having him at well under market value. Golden State won that bet.
Curry is obviously a max player come 2017, and the Warriors will back up the Brinks truck.
Why do max guys leave? Because they see a better chance of winning elsewhere. Including LeBron James (it was part of his decision, a younger core around him). The summer of 2017 is a long way off, but it’s nearly impossible to imagine Curry will look at the Warriors’ roster and think he needs to get out of there to win.
In the summer of 2017 Russell Westbrook, Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard, and Derrick Rose all could be free agents, and all of them are more likely to look around than Curry (at least as it seems now). In that environment, you can Curry re-signing with Golden State within minutes of the July 1 free-agent window opening. Well, so long as a lockout doesn’t ruin all of the fun.
(Hat tip Hoops Rumors)