Drastic times may be calling for drastic measures from Steph Curry.
The Golden State Warriors superstar guard Curry could use his upcoming free agency as leverage against the team, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic reports this week. Thompson notes that Curry might try to force the Warriors to build the best possible team around him as he wants to win and wants a shot at a deep playoff run.
Curry, who turns 39 next March, heavily recruited LeBron James in free agency this summer. However, James chose to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers instead, leaving the Warriors in a somewhat dire predicament.
Golden State is now facing the possibility of Jimmy Butler, who is owed $56.8 million next season, missing a significant part of the year while he recovers from a torn ACL. On top of that, the Warriors still have yet to make any impactful free agent additions to their roster (also losing Quinten Post and Pat Spencer to other teams).
The former NBA MVP Curry is himself entering his final year under contract in 2026-27 at $62.6 million. While Curry is of the league’s ultra-rare one-team superstars, he still clearly wants a puncher’s chance at ring No. 5.
We recently learned that the Warriors would effectively be willing to pay whatever figure Curry wants on a new contract extension, which he becomes eligible for in August. But unless Golden State can field a competitive team around him, Curry might have to play hardball here and threaten to leave his beloved longtime team after 17 total seasons and counting.
