Stephen Curry’s next contract decision is now in his hands, and the Warriors are not trying to steer him toward one specific answer.
ESPN’s Anthony Slater said on the latest episode of the Hoop Collective podcast that Golden State is prepared to let Curry choose from several paths now that he’s newly eligible for a veteran extension. The team, Slater said, is not in active negotiations with its star guard.
“They’re adamant they’re not negotiating with Steph Curry right now,” Slater said of the Warriors. “They are saying, ‘You can do this, you can do this, you can do this.
If you want the one-year max, if you want the two-year max, if you wanna wait. Here’s your menu.
Pick off your menu.'”
As outlined Monday, Curry’s maximum-salary extension would be worth roughly $136.7MM over two years. He remains eligible to sign an extension through June 30, 2027, and if he waits until next July and reaches free agency, he could land a new three-year deal with Golden State.
Slater said he expects Curry to decide before training camp, but he also made clear the Warriors are not pressing to close anything in the immediate future. Golden State is projected to have more than $100MM in cap room in the 2027 offseason, and waiting could give Curry and the front office a clearer picture of what the roster landscape will look like in 2027/28 and beyond.
“I do expect him to want to make a decision relatively soon,” Slater said (YouTube link). “But also, from what I’ve been told from the Warriors’ side, (there’s) no rush, and he’s eligible all the way until June 30. He could sign at any point during the season (or) after the season.”
Slater also pointed to the kind of move Golden State could chase down the line. The Warriors had interest in Jaren Jackson Jr. before Utah acquired him from Memphis at February’s trade deadline, and Slater said that sort of deal could be realistic for them at the 2027 deadline as well.
In that scenario, the Jazz used future first-round picks and future cap flexibility to land Jackson, while the players they sent out were salary-matching pieces without meaningful trade value. Slater said the Warriors would be capable of building a similar package for an impact player during the season.
The podcast also touched on Jalen Duren’s restricted free agency. Slater said the Pistons center still appears unlikely to turn down a strong long-term offer in order to take his one-year, $9.6MM qualifying offer, but Sacramento could become part of the equation later. Kings general manager Scott Perry had dinner with Duren in Miami early in free agency, Slater said, and while Sacramento can’t currently make a move without a sign-and-trade Detroit doesn’t want to do, the picture could change if Duren reaches unrestricted free agency next summer.
“If you are Jalen Duren and his representatives, I would look at the Sacramento Kings and know they can get up to maximum cap space next summer,” Slater said. “ Zach LaVine ‘s coming off the books.
Scott Perry is completely turning the franchise over. And I will tell you, he had Jalen Duren’s name (marked) with highlighter pen, looking at next year’s potential free agency if Duren were willing to take the QO.”
Sacramento came up again when Windhorst noted that Domantas Sabonis changed agents this offseason, hiring Aaron Mintz and Steven Heumann of CAA Sports. Windhorst pointed out that Mintz and Heumann also represent Trae Young and Walker Kessler, both of whom were traded to new teams and then signed lucrative long-term deals this year.
Slater said Sabonis has a good relationship with Perry, but the Kings are not interested in discussing an extension with him. He views Sabonis as a likely trade candidate and suggested his time in Sacramento may be winding down before his contract runs out in 2028.
“I think we all know where this is going,” Slater said.
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Sabonis has already been part of trade chatter before, including a rumored framework involving Charlotte that never came together. For the Kings, the concern is not just the noise but the context: since arriving in 2022, he has dealt with injuries and just put up career-low numbers in the most recent season, which only adds to the uncertainty around one of the franchises most important players. [Read more 🡒]
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