Entering the offseason, the Golden State Warriors’ front office identified the need for a more established second scorer next to Stephen Curry as a high priority, team sources said. The Warriors had Paul George and Lauri Markkanen atop a select wish list of realistically available and appealing players and chased both, in that order. They were willing to sacrifice a chunk of their first-round draft capital and a slice of their youth movement.
For separate reasons, they didn’t lock down a deal for either. The LA Clippers boxed them out of the George conversation. The Utah Jazz asked for every available pick and pick swap in the cupboard, plus multiple young players, for Markkanen. The Warriors were unwilling to unload the full unprotected boat.
Maybe Brandin Podziemski or the exact amount of firsts would’ve eventually been the swing factor in deeper Markkanen negotiations, sparking an internal debate. But it never reached that stage, team sources said. Markkanen signed an extension in Utah, and several sources from multiple inquiring teams said they believe, in retrospect, this was always the Jazz’s intended outcome. Markkanen’s true availability was a mirage.
But reasons matter a whole lot less than results. In that regard, the Warriors failed to remedy their largest roster weakness. They not only didn’t acquire an established veteran scorer, but also indirectly motivated their second-leading scorer from last season, Klay Thompson, to leave the franchise, rerouting his departure into the sign-and-trade and free-agent additions of Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton.
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This glaring flaw — a roster brimming in mid-tier depth but absent enough top-end scoring talent to relieve Curry’s workload and inject the Warriors back into fringe title contention — was put under a harsher microscope this past weekend. That’s when Curry, at 36, spectacularly shot Team USA to a gold medal in Paris, reinforcing his ability to still rise above on the largest stage when given a requisite opportunity.
Steve Kerr coached that team. Mike Dunleavy was in attendance. Draymond Green was roaring from the middle of the bleachers. Joe Lacob and Kirk Lacob followed from afar. The key Warriors’ stakeholders grasp Curry’s sustained greatness and, team sources said, there is an internal understanding that his current supporting cast can’t be considered a finished product if the 2025 NBA championship is believed to be a reachable goal.
Curry was in on the recruitment of George. Dunleavy keeps him in the loop on the options and ultimate personnel decisions. Curry hasn’t, team sources said, expressed any signs of panic or unrest. But there’s a choice of action or inaction in the coming months that’ll give a clearer hint about his long-term mindset.
Curry is eligible for a one-year, $62.6 million extension to his contract, which has two seasons and $115.3 million left. He flew back from Paris a few days ago and plans to unplug from basketball-related business for a few weeks. So any contract conversation isn’t expected to take place in the near future, league sources said. It’ll be entirely on Curry’s preferred timeline. The deadline to extend is Oct. 21.
From the Warriors’ side, it isn’t nearly as complicated as their more recent contract extensions (Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Green, Thompson) or future (Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody). If Curry wants to tack on that extra year anywhere up to that max of $62.6 million, the Warriors would be willing. It’s a position they’ve maintained privately and publicly.
Steph Curry is eligible to extend an extra year this summer. Mike Dunleavy: “That guy, whatever he wants…Pretty confident he will be a Warrior for life.”
Dunleavy also said the desire is to extend Kuminga/Moody pic.twitter.com/xjpglfz0qu
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) July 12, 2024
The benefit to Curry is obvious: an extra season of security. He will turn 37 before he is extension eligible again — next offseason for up to two additional years. There’s always a risk that situations change and an offer on the table in October won’t necessarily be there the following August. He has two months to decide whether to lock in at $62.6 million for his age-38 season.
But there is flexibility and leverage in waiting. As this upcoming season materializes, Curry and the entire basketball world will get more information about the Warriors’ direction and the legitimacy of their quest to crack back open the title window while Curry still grips to his late prime. Do the younger players develop rapidly? Does Wiggins bounce back? Does Green stay out of the league’s crosshairs? Is the front office able to strike a significant in-season trade with the draft assets that remain in its pocket?
It’s easier to apply pressure — even in Curry’s tranquil style — with one season left on a contract rather than two. So Curry’s choice whether to commit to an extra year of team control before the October deadline is a notable signal of which way the wind might blow.
The Warriors believe they improved this summer, team sources emphasized, basing that partially on internal number models that gave a positive-value thumbs-up to the additions of Melton, Anderson and Hield. A few analytics-driven employees from around the league agree. One rival’s metric model had Golden State fourth in the conference. The Warriors’ 46 wins a season ago through turbulence stood only five back of the fifth spot (Clippers, 51 wins).
But there are rational reasons to doubt. Curry played 74 games last season, his most since 2016-17. Can he repeat that? Green missed 27. Can he avoid repeating that? Then even if everything breaks right — the younger layer of the roster rises and the depth shines in the regular season for a sturdy playoff seed — does the ultimate flaw they tried and failed to correct (acquiring another 24ish-point per-game scorer) bite them in the playoffs anyway? If a second star hits the trade market, do they pay a steep price and finally close a significant deal?
Curry’s decision on a one-year extension comes before those answers, but it could provide a hint about how optimistic he is that they’ll trend in the Warriors’ direction.
(Photo: Rocky Widner / NBAE via Getty Images)
