Stephen Curry sends clear message Warriors front office can't ignore

Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry may be 38-years-old next month and in his 17th NBA season, but the veteran guard isn't planning to end his legendary career anytime soon.

Despite a few injury concerns, Curry is still an All-NBA level player and was named an All-Star starter this season, with his latest retirement comments sending another clear message to the front office when it comes to where their priorities should lie.

Stephen Curry sends clear message with latest retirement comments

In an interview with People, Curry has declared that he doesn't think the time to call it quits will come anytime soon, offering some more optimism on the likelihood of him playing well into his 40's in a similar fashion to LeBron James.

Why not either? Curry is still one of the top handful of players in the league and the center of everything the Warriors do offensively, having proven he can still be the best player on the floor in any particular game.

Golden State's inability to prioritize the Curry era has frustrated fans for years, and would have undoubtedly irked the 11x All-Star himself at times as he's navigated playing alongside a number of younger players.

The much discussed two-timeline approach has failed spectacularly, and the fact it was even attempted in the first place likely goes down to the franchise not believing Curry would remain at this level for this long.

The fact Curry still believes retirement is a fair way off is just another reminder to the front office that they need to be all in every single season, rather than even contemplate what the future could look like beyond his retirement.

Fortunately for Curry and the fanbase, the Warriors have seemingly been prioritizing the current timeline more in recent years, albeit many would argue that's simply been in response to future prospects failing.

Since the 2023 mid-season trade deadline where Golden State gave up on former second overall pick James Wiseman, they've also moved on from Jordan Poole and most recently former seventh overall pick Jonathan Kuminga.

During the last 13 months, they've acquired 6x All-Star and now 36-year-old Jimmy Butler in a blockbuster trade, along with the savvy signing of 39-year-old Al Horford in free agency last offseason.

These are all moves that point to the Warriors giving up on their long-term ambitions to focus on the now, and they must continue that way of thinking while retirement for Curry is still well and truly in the distance.