The Warriors are not negotiating with Stephen Curry so much as handing him a menu and asking what he wants.
Curry became extension-eligible in late August. Golden State has presented him with a set of options rather than a single offer, according to ESPN’s Warriors reporter Anthony Slater: a one-year max, a two-year max, or the choice to wait and revisit later.
Curry, for his part, is not in a hurry.
“Extension stuff, we’ll figure that out at the right time,” he said. “But I’m ready for Year 18.”
The numbers
Curry is making $62.6 million this season, the final year of his current deal. He is eligible for an extension worth up to two years and $136.7 million.
He turns 39 in March, during this season. Signing him through age 40 at max money is the kind of decision that has sunk franchises, and the Warriors are doing it anyway, because the alternative is unthinkable in the Bay Area.
Why waiting might be smarter for everyone
Here is the wrinkle worth watching. Every dollar Curry commits to now is a dollar Golden State cannot use to add talent around him, and the second apron rules punish high payrolls with restrictions that go far beyond a luxury tax bill.
Some analysts have floated the idea that Curry taking less, or waiting, would give the Warriors real flexibility to build a contender for his final years. That is a nice theory and it is also asking a player to donate tens of millions of earned dollars to a billionaire ownership group.
Curry has already done a version of this. He has spent his entire career on a team that has profited enormously from him, and he has never once used his leverage the way stars around the league routinely do. Asking him to do it again at this stage is a lot.
The real question is not money
The question is what Golden State does with Year 18 and Year 19. A max extension only matters if the roster around Curry is capable of winning a playoff series. Right now that is an open argument.
Curry has committed to finishing his career in Golden State. The Warriors have committed to keeping him. What neither side has committed to is a plan that produces a contender, and that gap is the actual story here.
The extension will get signed. Everyone knows that. Whether it means anything depends entirely on what the front office does next.
Sources
- https://www.nbcsportsbayarea.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/steph-curry-contract-extension-idea/1952471/
- https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25488868-new-steph-curry-rumors-update-warriors-contract-extension-talks-ahead-eligibility-date
- https://heavy.com/sports/nba/golden-state-warriors/stephen-curry-contract-extension-update-warriors/
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
