At 37 years old, Steph Curry is still one of the best players in the NBA. His contract with the Golden State Warriors is set to end next season. With his title window possibly closing after Jimmy Butler‘s knee injury, executives around the league shared their thoughts on Curry’s future.
NBA on NBC’s Chris Mannix unpacked what the Warriors could do at the trade deadline. Jonathan Kuminga remains a critical point, though Mannix brought up Golden State’s plan to save money for the free agency class of 2027, which includes Curry.
Mannix brought up what some executives, who want to sign Curry, thought about their chances of seeing the two-time MVP in a different jersey.
“I think it’s going to come down to, at some point, a difficult conversation with Stephen Curry. There’s no indication that Golden State would ever move Stephen Curry, and I’ve talked to executives from teams that would love to have Steph Curry, that if he were available, they would make 10 phone calls to make the first offer. But even they tell me that they look at Steph as a legacy player. They see him as a Dirk Nowitzki-type, a Kobe Bryant-type, someone that’s going to play for one team for his entire career,” Mannix said.
Mannix added that even if the Warriors re-sign Curry to a new contract, it would be hard to see the franchise building a contender around him. The Western Conference is loaded with teams that would compete for titles in years to come, like the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs.
Will Curry Leave Golden State?
The only team that has been linked to Steph Curry is the Charlotte Hornets. The franchise has a special place in Curry’s heart because his father, Dell Curry, was a legend of the team. The Hornets are even set to honor Dell by finally retiring his No. 30 jersey on March 19 against the Orlando Magic, as per NBA.com.
According to CBS Sports’ Sam Quinn, if for some reason the Warriors entertain the idea of trading their greatest player ever, the Hornets are a potential destination. Steph playing alongside a young core of LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel and Brandon Miller could do some damage.
However, Quinn thinks that if Steph wants to leave the Bay Area, it will be via free agency.
“If the Hornets could get Curry with matching salary and modest pick compensation, they’d do it for the business reasons alone. … If Curry wanted to try his luck as a Hornet, he’d probably do it as a 2027 free agent,” Quinn wrote.
Steph grew up in Charlotte and even went to Davidson College, which was a less-than-30-minute drive from the city.
Curry Open to Playing in Charlotte
When Steph Curry received the keys to the city of Charlotte in 2022, he revealed his intentions to finish his career with the Golden State Warriors. Curry also teased the possibility of joining the Hornets even for just one season.
“People always say, ‘Do you wanna play one year for the Hornets and come back?’ No, no, I’m not breaking any news. I’m not making any promises. All I would say is if there was a team I did wanna play for that wasn’t the Warriors, that would be it,” Curry said, via Genna Contino of The Charlotte Observer.
The four-time NBA champion is in his 18th season. He’s not showing signs of slowing down, averaging 27.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.1 steals per game.
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