As the Warriors close out the rest of their offseason business, one issue still looms largest: Stephen Curry’s next contract.
Curry became eligible on Aug. 29 for a two-year, $136.7 million extension, and all the reporting around it points in the same direction - he is not going anywhere. The question is not whether he stays with Golden State. It’s how the deal is structured when he does.
There are a few ways this can play out. Curry could simply take the full max.
He could come in below that number, somewhere around $40 million per year, which would give the Warriors more room to maneuver next summer. There’s even a possibility he signs a one-year deal at a lower salary with the understanding that his pay would rise after that.
That last path feels more like a dream than a plan, and the idea of a LeBron James-style pay cut this offseason is not something to bank on.
Still, no matter where Curry lands, the Warriors should have some financial flexibility to work with - more than they’ve had in a while. And that matters. Even if a splashy superstar addition isn’t realistically on the table, Golden State owes its franchise icon a serious effort to keep the roster competitive for as long as he’s still playing at this level.
If Curry takes less than the max, the Warriors’ path opens up considerably. With Jimmy Butler’s $57 million salary and Draymond Green’s $28 million payday off the books, Golden State should have enough space to bring Brandin Podziemski back in restricted free agency. They can also let Brandon Williams, Charles Bassey, Gary Payton II, and Georges Niang walk next offseason.
Those moves alone could leave the Warriors with roughly $64 to $70 million in cap space if Curry signs at around $40 million annually. There are other ways to clear even more room, including moving off Kristaps Porzingis’ salary, which is only partially guaranteed for 2027-28. And the idea of an aging star taking less than the maximum isn’t exactly unheard of.
Even if Curry signs for the full amount, Golden State could still enter next offseason with as much as $40 million in cap space. That doesn’t make a huge superstar chase likely, even if names like Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis could be in play on the market next summer. More realistically, the Warriors need to use that money to rebuild the edges of the roster and find dependable pieces around Curry.
That kind of work could come through trades during the season, or it could happen in free agency if the Warriors still have their cap space available. There are names that would at least force a conversation, including Keldon Johnson, Cameron Johnson, Luguentz Dort, Tyler Herro, Donte DiVincenzo, and Isaac Okoro.
However it shakes out, Golden State will have real decisions to make next offseason about how to shape the roster around Curry. The responsibility now is straightforward: whatever flexibility they have, they have to spend it wisely.
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For a team that has to keep an eye on every future dollar, the question is no longer just whether Podziemski is worth a rookie extension, but how aggressively to act before the leverage changes again. Golden State could decide the cleaner path is patience, even if that means letting the process run deeper into restricted free agency, where the price of waiting can get complicated fast. [Read more 🡒]