The Golden State Warriors, with whom Steph Curry has spent the last 15 seasons playing, will be his team for the upcoming basketball season.
When Curry and the Warriors decided to sign a one-year, $62 million contract extension on August 29, they made that much evident.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN broke the story first.
The agreement puts an end to growing doubts about Curry playing for Golden State the next season. Fans had been envisioning a reunion between the two all-time greats following their gold medal winning performance in the Olympics in Paris alongside close friend LeBron James.
Curry recently completed his fifteenth NBA season, all of which he played for Golden State. In 74 games during the regular season last year, he averaged 26.4 points, 5.1 assists, and 4.5 rebounds.
The NBA’s over-38 rule means that the Warriors could only have granted Curry a one-year deal. This prohibits teams from signing players to four-year (or longer) contracts who are 38 years of age or older.
Curry and Golden State will therefore have three more years to look forward to.
It remains to be seen, though, if he will play them all out at his one and only NBA home. Curry’s career will only have two seasons without Klay Thompson, who signed a free agent contract to play for the Dallas Mavericks.
He has put an end to any trade talk for the next year at least. However, most would think a trade request for the future Hall of Famer was justified if the Warriors are unable to field a competitive season with Curry nearing the end of his peak.
“The Expectation Hasn’t Changed,” says Steph Curry
Curry signed his most recent deal with Golden State and then had an exclusive interview with Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic.
He informed Thompson that now that the agreement was finalized, attention could shift to the upcoming season.
Curry remarked, “You have a gratitude for the role, the chance, and the encouragement from those who have accompanied you on the path.” “I’ve always stated that my goal is to play my entire career with one team. Therefore, it’s wise to put the extension topic to rest and concentrate entirely on basketball and the upcoming season.
Curry insisted that, despite his dedication, his goal is still to win basketball.
Curry informed Thompson, “Winning is still the main goal.” and making the required preparations to offer ourselves a chance. The benchmark remains unchanged. The anticipation remains unchanged.
The Warriors were 46-35 at the end of the previous campaign when they lost to the Sacramento Kings in a play-in game. Despite Curry’s dedication to the team, the ramifications for the upcoming season are much more significant.
This year doesn’t feel like a championship-or-bust kind of year. However, a play-in tournament result would rekindle rumors about Curry’s future.
Anthony Slater: “I think the Warriors got better this summer.”
Anthony Slater of The Athletic expressed trust in the team’s executive staff prior to Curry and Golden State’s agreement, stating that they planned to keep the 10-time All-Star and strengthen their squad this summer.
Slater noted on August 15 that “team sources emphasized that the Warriors believe they improved this summer, basing that partially on internal number models that gave a positive-value thumbs-up to the additions of Melton, Anderson, and Hield.”
Slater is alluding to the seasoned team of De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, and Kyle Anderson. In order to replace the departure of Thompson and Chris Paul, all were signed to contracts or acquired by the Warriors this summer.
Melton will be Curry’s backup. Anderson offers a more flexible choice in either forward position. Golden State may have a Thompson substitute in Hield.
He has a lifetime three-point percentage of 40% and made 219 of his three-point attempts last season. Thompson achieved 268 but needed 124 more tries.
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