The Golden State Warriors would love to keep their golden boy, Stephen Curry, in San Francisco for the rest of his career, but in order to do that, the organization has to show the 36-year-old guard that they’re committed to winning.
In an interview with Andscape, Curry expressed a desire to play for a contending team, even if that meant leaving the only team he’s ever played for.
“It’s tough, right? I’ve always said I want to be a Warrior for life. At this stage in my career, I feel like that’s possible. And you can still be competitive, it doesn’t mean you guaranteed the championship. It doesn’t mean winning. Winning is always a priority, but obviously you’re realistic. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen if you stay the course. You need to shake things up and keep reimagining what it looks like to evolve with what league is at right now, with where some of these talented teams are now.
“I’m taking it one step at a time to be honest,” he continued. “I think that’s the only way that will protect my happiness. Also, it allows me to enjoy being myself when I’m out there playing. And I’ll continue to make the decisions that are best for me and for my career at the end of the day when it comes to just the imagination. I want to win. Let’s put it this way, it’s a longwinded way of saying that it if it is a situation where you’re a bottom feeder and it’s just because you want to stay there, I’d have a hard time with that. But I don’t think that’s going to be the reality.”
The Warriors are currently in a competitive limbo. They’ve missed out on the playoffs three times in the past five years, and Curry’s “splash bro” Klay Thompson was traded to the Dallas Mavericks this offseason. However, they exhibited what a winning squad should look like when they won three championship from 2015 to 2018, and again in 2022.
Outside of Curry, and Draymond Green the Warriors are a young team, with only five players over the age of 30. Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga are the team’s two brightest young players, with both averaging 16 points in the previous campaign.
The Warriors went 46-36 and finished 10th in the Western Conference last season