Is the Warriors entrance workplace failing Steph Curry with the present roster construct?

Getting into the offseason, the Golden State Warriors’ entrance workplace recognized the necessity for a extra established second scorer subsequent to Stephen Curry as a excessive precedence, staff sources mentioned. The Warriors had Paul George and Lauri Markkanen atop a choose want record of realistically obtainable and interesting gamers and chased each, in that order. They had been keen to sacrifice a bit of their first-round draft capital and a slice of their youth motion.

For separate causes, they didn’t lock down a deal for both. The LA Clippers boxed them out of the George dialog. The Utah Jazz requested for each obtainable decide and decide swap within the cabinet, plus a number of younger gamers, for Markkanen. The Warriors had been unwilling to unload the complete unprotected boat.

Perhaps Brandin Podziemski or the precise quantity of firsts would’ve ultimately been the swing consider deeper Markkanen negotiations, sparking an inside debate. Nevertheless it by no means reached that stage, staff sources mentioned. Markkanen signed an extension in Utah, and a number of other sources from a number of inquiring groups mentioned they consider, looking back, this was all the time the Jazz’s meant consequence. Markkanen’s true availability was a mirage.

However causes matter a complete lot lower than outcomes. In that regard, the Warriors did not treatment their largest roster weak point. They not solely didn’t purchase a longtime veteran scorer, but in addition not directly motivated their second-leading scorer from final season, Klay Thompson, to go away the franchise, rerouting his departure into the sign-and-trade and free-agent additions of Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield and De’Anthony Melton.

GO DEEPER

How Klay Thompson’s 13-year run with the Warriors splintered so unceremoniously

This evident flaw — a roster brimming in mid-tier depth however absent sufficient top-end scoring expertise to alleviate Curry’s workload and inject the Warriors again into fringe title competition — was put underneath a harsher microscope this previous weekend. That’s when Curry, at 36, spectacularly shot Crew USA to a gold medal in Paris, reinforcing his means to nonetheless rise above on the biggest stage when given a requisite alternative.

Steve Kerr coached that staff. Mike Dunleavy was in attendance. Draymond Inexperienced was roaring from the center of the bleachers. Joe Lacob and Kirk Lacob adopted from afar. The important thing Warriors’ stakeholders grasp Curry’s sustained greatness and, staff sources mentioned, there’s an inside understanding that his present supporting forged can’t be thought-about a completed product if the 2025 NBA championship is believed to be a reachable purpose.

Curry was in on the recruitment of George. Dunleavy retains him within the loop on the choices and supreme personnel selections. Curry hasn’t, staff sources mentioned, expressed any indicators of panic or unrest. However there’s a selection of motion or inaction within the coming months that’ll give a clearer trace 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 again from Paris just a few days in the past and plans to unplug from basketball-related enterprise for just a few weeks. So any contract dialog isn’t anticipated to happen within the close to future, league sources mentioned. It’ll be completely on Curry’s most popular timeline. The deadline to increase is Oct. 21.

From the Warriors’ aspect, it isn’t practically as difficult as their newer contract extensions (Jordan Poole, Andrew Wiggins, Inexperienced, Thompson) or future (Jonathan Kuminga, Moses Moody). If Curry desires to tack on that further 12 months wherever as much as that max of $62.6 million, the Warriors can be keen. It’s a place they’ve maintained privately and publicly.

Steph Curry is eligible to increase an additional 12 months this summer season. Mike Dunleavy: “That man, no matter he desires…Fairly assured he might be a Warrior for all times.”

Dunleavy additionally mentioned the will is to increase Kuminga/Moody pic.twitter.com/xjpglfz0qu

— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) July 12, 2024

The profit to Curry is clear: an additional season of safety. He’ll flip 37 earlier than he’s extension eligible once more — subsequent offseason for as much as two extra years. There’s all the time a threat that conditions change and a proposal on the desk in October received’t essentially be there the next August. He has two months to determine whether or not to lock in at $62.6 million for his age-38 season.

However there’s flexibility and leverage in ready. As this upcoming season materializes, Curry and your entire basketball world will get extra details about the Warriors’ course and the legitimacy of their quest to crack again open the title window whereas Curry nonetheless grips to his late prime. Do the youthful gamers develop quickly? Does Wiggins bounce again? Does Inexperienced keep out of the league’s crosshairs? Is the entrance workplace capable of strike a major in-season commerce with the draft property that stay in its pocket?

It’s simpler to use stress — even in Curry’s tranquil fashion — with one season left on a contract relatively than two. So Curry’s selection whether or not to decide to an additional 12 months of staff management earlier than the October deadline is a notable sign of which approach the wind may blow.

The Warriors consider they improved this summer season, staff sources emphasised, basing that partially on inside quantity fashions that gave a positive-value thumbs-up to the additions of Melton, Anderson and Hield. Just a few analytics-driven staff from across the league agree. One rival’s metric mannequin had Golden State fourth within the convention. The Warriors’ 46 wins a season in the past by turbulence stood solely 5 again of the fifth spot (Clippers, 51 wins).

However there are rational causes to doubt. Curry performed 74 video games final season, his most since 2016-17. Can he repeat that? Inexperienced missed 27. Can he keep away from repeating that? Then even when all the pieces breaks proper — the youthful layer of the roster rises and the depth shines within the common season for a sturdy playoff seed — does the last word flaw they tried and did not right (buying one other 24ish-point per-game scorer) chew them within the playoffs anyway? If a second star hits the commerce market, do they pay a steep worth and eventually shut a major deal?

Curry’s determination on a one-year extension comes earlier than these solutions, but it surely may present a touch about how optimistic he’s that they’ll development within the Warriors’ course.

(Photograph: Rocky Widner / NBAE through Getty Photographs)