Amid contract talks, Steph Curry reiterates desire to be a Warriors ‘lifer'
· Yahoo Sports
Stephen Curry continues to reiterate, to any outlet holding up a microphone, that he has no intention of going anywhere.
On Thursday, while in New York for an event with his Underrated Golf Tour, Curry emphatically shook off a question from CNBC if NBA free-agency appealed to him.
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"Not at all," Curry told CNBC in a television interview. "I've always stated that I want to be a lifer with Golden State. What we've built here – the fact that I get to run it back this year with Draymond and Coach Kerr, so.
"All the contract stuff, this NBA thing from year to year is so crazy," he continued. "Things change really fast. But I do know, my interest and mission to stay in Golden State and be competitive is there. And the contract stuff will take care of itself."
The "be competitive" is the quiet kicker there, as Curry's conversations with the Warriors around a new deal will hinge as much on Golden State's immediate outlook as the actual financials. The 12-time All-Star became eligible for a two-year, $136.7 million extension on Aug. 29, the maximum of which would carry him through an age-41 season in 2028-29. And Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy told reporters in August that he was "pretty confident" Curry would finish his career in Golden State – even if Dunleavy randomly brought up the unprompted notion that Curry could demand a trade.
"We wouldn't love it, but he's earned the right to do what he wants," Dunleavy said then.
As the start of Warriors camp approaches the week of Sept. 28, a wealth of options remain for Curry and his representation, who largely hold any leverage in negotiations. A league source confirmed to the Chronicle that Golden State has had initial conversations with Curry around an extension, as ESPN noted in early September, and that the franchise has presented the wealth of options available to him at his preference. The ball, essentially, is in Curry's court without pressure on him to make a decision within a specific window, as the source indicated.
Curry, then, could lean toward a two-year curtain call with a one-year extension, or give himself flexibility – in the LeBron James mold – by positioning himself for a one-year deal with a player option for a second season. He could angle for the maximum two-year deal available, under CBA rules.
Or, in another clear possibility, Curry could simply wait anytime until June 2027 to give himself and Golden State maximum flexibility to evaluate the franchise's direction with the impending free-agent market.
"He just needs to decide when he wants to sign it," the league source told the Chronicle Thursday.
At the moment, Golden State has the least money of any NBA team committed to players under contract in the 2027-28 season. Curry's extension, naturally, will eat up much of that flexibility. And in any current negotiations - as CBA expert and former Brooklyn Nets assistant GM Bobby Marks previously explained to the Chronicle - it'd be difficult for Golden State to present a clear vision to Curry to entice him to take a pay cut.
"You can't sit there and say, ‘Hey, these are the four free agents we're going to get, right, or three free agents, or this is what the plan is,'" Marks said. "It's really hard to do in late August, early September."
The 38-year-old Curry will play the 2026-27 season, regardless of any extension, on a one-year deal worth $62.6 million. And any next deal he signs with Golden State may well be his last.
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