Stephen Curry is an annoying player to deal with. On any given night, the Golden State Warriors legend is always a threat to go nuclear and light your team up. The Los Angeles Lakers have to deal with that more than most, given that Curry is in their division. What if that was no longer the case?
Curry is entering the last year of his current deal with the Warriors in 2026-27. As things stand, the all-time great would be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Steph would never leave, right? Well, that could depend on just how much frustration there is for the greatest shooter of all time after watching his franchise miss out on yet another star to help support a title chase.
LeBron James signing with the Philadelphia 76ers resulted in the latest failed pursuit of a star for the Warriors. They have struggled to equip the best player in their franchise's history with the needed support to compete in his twilight. That could at least turn Curry's next contract into a leverage play.
Marcus Thompson II reported: "He wants to win. ... He wants a chance, a real chance, for a deep playoff run. The longer it takes for him to sign a contract extension, the more you can bet Curry’s using potential free agency as a tool to keep the Warriors pushing toward that end."
At what point does a leverage play become a real desire to leave for Stephen Curry?
Curry's frustrations are understandable. The man who many consider the greatest point guard of all time used to be surrounded by the type of supporting cast other superstars could only dream of. The Warriors have fallen off a cliff in that department.
They have been asking a late-30s Curry to do way more heavy lifting than he should be doing at this stage of his career. It is oddly similar to how the Lakers underwhelmed in building around LeBron during his aging, yet still elite, years.
Curry is not James in one key department, though. Steph has only ever played for one franchise during his NBA career. Would that fact really change? Maybe. It depends on his priorities.
Warriors insider Tim Kawakami stated on his show that team owner Joe Lacob is just as interested in showing what the franchise can do after Curry as they are with him. That could mean Steph's final years fail to deliver the type of all-in effort needed for him to satisfy that desire to win.
At that point, what matters more: staying in the only place you have ever called home, or winning?
If the answer is the latter, then Curry can look to all the failed star pursuits as prime justification of why the Warriors cannot give him a real chance at ring number five. Should that spark an exit from Golden State, James will have played his part in that, and the Lakers will quietly owe him a thank you for the parting gift.
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