Despite a busy offseason where they’ve completely rebuilt their team, the Los Angeles Lakers are still on the clock with Luka Doncic in a way the Golden State Warriors could soon be with Stephen Curry.
Doncic has two guaranteed years left on his contract but there are already question marks over his future in Los Angeles, particularly given he doesn’t have the same long-term history that Curry obviously has with the Warriors.
Lakers face Luka Doncic pressure Warriors could get with Stephen Curry
The Lakers face immense pressure to appease Doncic with their on-court performance, with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon even suggesting on a recent episode of The Hoop Collective that teams are already lurking around the Slovenian superstar.
"But it's not that long-term of an extension, and you better believe there's teams around the league that are looking at that situation and saying, 'Hey, if this thing goes sideways, we'd sure like to get Luka in the midway through his prime,'" MacMahon said.
Speculation over Curry’s future arose in the wake of the Warriors missing out on LeBron James and delivering an underwhelming offseason after missing the playoffs. That has since died down, but you best believe it will re-emerge into the spotlight if Curry doesn’t immediately sign an extension once eligible at the end of this week (August 29).
If Curry enters the season on an expiring contract, Golden State will be hit with just as much if not more pressure than their pacific rivals face with Doncic. They’ll be less equipped to negotiate that pressure as well, with Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody sidelined by injury and a team that looks destined for the Play-In Tournament once again.
Stephen Curry may wait to sign contract extension with Warriors
Curry may quickly silence any question marks by signing an extension in the next week, but few would blame the two-time MVP if he chose to wait and see how the next few months play out as he enters his age 39 season.
Curry’s future has arguably never faced this much uncertainty over the last dozen years, and no extension followed by a slow start could ramp up even more speculation ahead of the February mid-season trade deadline.
Doncic and Curry will lead their respective teams into battle in an opening night matchup on October 21, while the Warriors and Lakers will also meet again early in the season in an NBA Cup game on October 30.
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