Stephen Curry is the heart and soul of the Golden State Warriors. Without Curry, the Warriors wouldn’t even be close to being regarded as one of the most dominant teams in NBA history.
Curry has spent his entire career with the Warriors and has won four NBA Championships with the team. He recently expressed his desire to never leave the Warriors and wants to stay with the franchise throughout his career.
After all, in all the years that Curry has played with the Dubs, the organization has rarely disappointed him. But this could change very soon. Draymond Green reportedly wants to sign a max contract with the Warriors this offseason.
A few years ago, the Warriors would have handed this contract to Green, no questions asked. But Green’s performance has dipped over the years, and the Warriors are reasonably reluctant before signing Draymond to a 4-year max contract.
However, it has been revealed by NBA insiders Anthony Slater and Marcus Thompson II that if the Warriors do not fulfill Green’s demands, it could upset their superstar Stephen Curry.
Via The Athletic:
Perhaps a bigger concern is how the NBA Finals MVP would feel about Green not getting an extension. Multiple sources said Curry would not be happy if the Warriors lost Green because the team didn’t want to pay him. Curry is under contract for four more years and has a desire for Green and Thompson to be with him for the length of his stay. A three-year extension would align Green’s contract with Curry’s.
Curry sees the Big Three as a package deal. While much of the talk of the season was about the Warriors’ plan to win-and-develop simultaneously, it isn’t lost on the veteran core how that plan disappeared in the postseason. It was all on them again, with the help of some critical vets.
That means the Warriors’ chances of winning another title hinge on capturing lightning in a bottle with another crop of role players or growth from the youth. Either scenario is only possible with Curry, Green and Thompson in tow, the core is convinced, which makes them worthy of contract extensions that allow them to stick together.
Keeping them together, however, likely means losing some other critical younger pieces. The Warriors’ front office, by their stated financial limits and by their responsibility to the future, are forced to consider life after the dynasty. They could hasten it this offseason with who they decide to extend. A scenario exists where they could sign Wiggins and Poole to contract extensions while Green and Thompson wait. One can imagine how the incumbent superstars might receive such a message.
The Warriors dynasty has done a lot for the franchise. But the Warriors need to plan out for life after the three stars retire. This could even mean risking upsetting Curry and having an unhappy Draymond play in the upcoming season.
Knowing Curry’s importance to the franchise, the Warriors will probably figure out a way to make things work. Otherwise, all signs point to fans seeing a premature end to the Warriors dynasty.
