Stephen Curry isn’t pretending the LeBron James free-agency watch has turned into a crisis.
He’s interested, sure. But mostly, he sounds like a guy who’d rather share a tee box with James than obsess over the contract drama.
While on the golf course ahead of Friday’s first round of the American Century Championship, Curry was asked about the possibility of playing with James.
"I'd say more so I'm interested to just play golf with LeBron," Curry said. "We'll handle the basketball stuff, but I want to see the golf LeBron free agent. He's out here really grinding on the game.
"But I'm sure we obviously would love to play to play together. I mean, hopefully it happens. But he's deserved the opportunity and the right to take his time with the decision."
That patience matters because the Warriors have already made one notable roster choice that could shape what they can offer James. They did not match Quinten Post’s contract offer sheet, which sent him to the Memphis Grizzlies on a three-year, $30 million deal with Years 2 and 3 nonguaranteed.
Post’s exit is the first significant loss among Golden State’s own free agents this offseason. The 26-year-old would have been the team’s third-string center after the Warriors extended Kristaps Porzingis’ contract and re-signed Al Horford, so some would argue the move doesn’t change much.
Still, there were reasons to keep him around. Post could have filled in when Porzingis or Horford missed time, and he also could have become a useful piece if the Warriors decided to trade Porzingis - or even a trade chip himself.
There’s also a financial angle. If Golden State had matched Post’s offer sheet, the most it realistically could have given James would have been the veteran minimum of $3.9 million.
By letting Post go, the Warriors have more flexibility. With just one corresponding move, they could offer James the full $15 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception and still give Draymond Green a reasonably sized new contract.
That’s one of the reasons Golden State has been mentioned in the James sweepstakes. The other is geography: the Bay Area is closer to his Los Angeles home than the other places he could land.
And then there’s the Curry factor.
A lot of the teams interested in James may have better overall rosters than the Warriors. But none of them can offer him the same kind of fit with a star as Curry.
James and Curry have already shown what that pairing can look like on the biggest stage, and the Warriors can at least dream about recreating that. My guess is James ends up somewhere else for a bunch of reasons. But if he really wants to chase the feeling of the 2024 Olympics again, Golden State still has a sliver of hope.
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Warriors May Already Regret Passing On This Draft Night Opportunity
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Instead, the player drawing the most attention has been the one they watched land elsewhere, and he has already started to look like more than just a Summer League flash. His recent run has only sharpened the sense that Golden State may have passed on a chance to add a wing with real long-term value, especially with other names the team liked still waiting to make their own summer debuts. [Read more 🡒]