Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is eligible to sign a contract extension. He’s made it clear that he wants to stay with the Warriors and retire with the team. General manager Mike Dunleavy has suggested the team is interested in the same thing. That’s all well and good, but if Curry really cares about the future of the organization, the best thing he could do might be to leave in free agency after this upcoming season.
It would hurt to see Curry play for another team. Warriors fans would be sickened and many would be furious if the front office allowed it to happen. But if Golden State really wants to start thinking about the future, the sooner the post-Curry era starts the easier it will be to make decisions based on the future rather than the present.
Steph Curry leaving would force the Warriors to rebuild
This offseason has been a perfect case study of a team that is stuck between contention and rebuilding. The Warriors know that they probably won’t be a legitimate contender in the Western Conference next season, yet they aren’t quite ready to blow everything up and start over.
They still need Curry and a somewhat competent cast around him so the team is watchable enough to justify those high Chase Center ticket prices. That's why the Warriors are basically just running it back even though last season was a disappointment.
The front office and owner Joe Lacob is fine with the team probably being around .500 if it means people still show up to watch Curry, the team makes it into the Play-In, and maybe they can make some extra money from the few home games the team might get if they sneak through the Play-In and actually get to the playoffs.
The sad thing is if Curry does sign an extension, chances are that will be the team’s reality for two more seasons. The front office has made it clear it's not willing to completely mortgage the future in order to make another desperate attempt at contention with the two-time MVP.
If they're not willing to do that and just seem content to wait until the end of Curry’s career to start really investing in the future, Curry may decide he wants to go somewhere else to try to win one more title and boost his legacy. That would simultaneously force the Warriors to reassess everything and probably start a rebuild process.
No one wants to watch a rebuilding team and if the Warriors started tanking like some of the current bottom feeders of the NBA, it would truly be awful to watch. But that may be what is necessary in order to build the next championship team.
Either the Warriors can begin the process a few years from now, or Curry can force them to change by deciding to go somewhere else. The sooner the Warriors hit the reset button, the sooner they will be able to build a new championship core. If Curry is thinking about the long-term health of the franchise, he may have to say goodbye to the only NBA team he's ever known.
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