In late September, Golden State Warriorsstar Stephen Curry told reporters that he planned to sign an extension “at the right time, once I have all the information I need to make the decision that is right.” He apparently got that information less than 48 hours later, as he signed a two-year, $116 million extension that was roughly $20 million less than the maximum amount he could have received.
We’re in a very interesting situation,” Curry told reporters before he signed. “All the different salary-cap conditions of whether I sign for a max or less or whatever it is, I want to be on a competitive team. I want to have an opportunity to have some flexibility because we haven’t had that in years past, the recent past. … This team should have flexibility to make necessary moves if things happen. Those are always just the considerations.”
At media day on Monday, Curry confirmed previous reporting from ESPN’s Anthony Slater that the Warriors presented him with a “menu of options,” including a full max contract.
“Yes, I was presented the max,” Curry told reporters. “Yes, there was everything on the table. Everything that you probably heard was somewhat accurate. For me, it was just processing all of that to get to a decision that was right for me and right for the team.”
He said that he chose to sign now to get “clarity of mind for these next two, three years” and to “just let this team play and hoop and get rid of distractions.” He added that it “just gives me peace of mind to go play basketball and enjoy what I’m doing.”
Given the current state of national NBA media, Curry bypassing an extension until next summer undeniably would have been a distraction for the Warriors this year. With every blowout loss, the likes of Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins would have bloviated about how Curry will never win another ring in Golden State and needed to flee for greener pastures in free agency next offseason.
Before signing Curry to his extension, the Warriors had only four players on guaranteed contracts beyond this season: Moses Moody ($13.4 million), Yaxel Lendeborg ($6.4 million), Gui Santos ($5.0 million) and Will Richard ($2.5 million). Al Horford ($7.2 million) and De’Anthony Melton ($6.4 million) each have player options for the 2027-28 season, while Kristaps Porziņģis has a $20 million mutual option, only $3 million of which is guaranteed.
Even if Melton and Horford picked up their respective player options, the Warriors could have entered next offseason with only $43.9 million in salary on their books. The cap holds of Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green would have gobbled up the Warriors’ potential cap space until they either re-signed them, renounced them or lost them to another team in free agency, but they could have feasibly entered next offseason with more than $100 million in potential spending power.