Steph Curry Continuing To Hint At Potentially Leaving Golden State Is A Page Right Out Of The Giannis Playbook

Rocky Widner. Getty Images.

The days of NBA superstars staying with the same team for their entire career are pretty much gone. The idea that we're going to see another Dirk play 21 seasons with one team, or Kobe playing 20, or Duncan/Stockton playing 19, or Reggie Miller playing 18 is simply not the reality in the current NBA. 

At the moment, Steph Curry leads all active players, having played for 15 seasons for the only team he's ever known. As he enters his age 36 season, Steph has two guaranteed years (no options) left on his current deal that pay him $55M and $59M respectively that will take him into his age 38 season. Given the fact that Steph is showing no real signs of slowing down any time soon, it's not crazy to suggest he has another 3-4 year extension coming his way.

The question of course is now, where will he be playing?

“I want to win. Let’s put it this way, it’s a longwinded way of saying that it if it is a situation where you’re a bottom feeder and it’s just because you want to stay there, I’d have a hard time with that. But I don’t think that’s going to be the reality.”

Hmmmm, interesting. This certainly isn't the first time we've heard something similar to this from Curry, who earlier this month was singing a similar tune

Now I'm sure there will be some out there who may view this as Steph laying the groundwork for a potential trade request/leaving in free agency because deep down maybe he knows the Warriors are cooked. 

Personally, I think that misses the mark of what Steph might actually be doing with these quotes.

It makes me think back to Giannis and how he handled his future in MIL. Prior to the 2021 season, Giannis floated out a similar stance when it came to staying with the Bucks, and while the masses took it as a hint he was thinking about leaving, what he was actually doing was putting the pressure on the front office to go all in and make a win now title contending move. They then immediately traded for Jrue Holiday, Giannis signed his extension and the Bucks won the title. We saw something similar this past summer when once again Giannis floated out some interesting quotes about his potential exit from MIL, but it once again was the same playbook to force the Bucks front office to bring in talent, which they did with the Dame trade. 

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Giannis was never leaving the Bucks, but he knew that he had the leverage to strong-arm the front office into adding talent to win during his current window. The fear of potentially losing their franchise talent was all it took.

To me, this is what Steph Curry is currently doing. It's pretty much the exact game plan, and you can understand why Steph may be taking that approach. The Warriors are in a win-now window given Steph and Draymond's ages. Bob Myers sort of fucked the next era of Warriors basketball with his last few drafts, and we're starting to see those issues creep up into this version of GS. There are rumors swirling about GS's interest in Lauri Markkanen, a move that would most definitely move the needle for this iteration of the Warriors and help extend Steph's run through his next extension.

There's only one problem

As with everything in the NBA, timing is important. It's even more important when we're talking about Steph Curry and his future in GS while these Markkanen rumors are swirling. Who knows, maybe Podz will turn himself into a legit All Star player, but that's certainly not a guarantee and it also doesn't exactly maximize the Steph Curry window. At this stage of his career, this is the moment where you should be going all in to support your franchise player, especially when it's pretty clear that a healthy Steph/Draymond & Co can contend if you bring in high level talent. 

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As constructed in a highly competitive Western Conference (who will now have the 50+ win Grizzlies back into the mix) the Warriors aren't good enough. Sure they could get you to around 46 wins, but in 2024 those 46 wins get you an 11 seed. This isn't to say there isn't talent on this roster

but given their competition, even with a superhuman Steph season we pretty much have seen their ceiling, which is why a potential trade for Markkanen helps actually move the needle. 

So no, I do not think this is Steph laying the groundwork for a potential GS exit, but rather his way of grabbing the Warriors front office by the shorthairs and pressuring them to bite the bullet and pull the trigger on a move that can truly have this Warriors team back in contention.

It worked for Giannis, time will tell if the same is true for Steph.