When you are gifted a generational talent, the wise approach is typically going all-in on that player and maximizing every single season you have with him. Given how this offseason has shaped up, that is not what the Golden State Warriors are doing with Stephen Curry. Even worse, there is a familiar conversation reentering the mix in the Bay Area.
Warriors insider Tim Kawakami said on his show: "What [Joe] Lacob wants to do, and this might get Warriors fans mad, but he wants to build the next team after Steph Curry. I don't know how possible that is, but Lacob has a very keen interest."
The Warriors team owner was described as wanting to not only show what the franchise can do with Curry, but also after Curry. That sure does sound a little too familiar to the two-timeline approach that has previously haunted Golden State during this era of basketball.
When the Warriors made the push for players like Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis, the hope was that Golden State was all-in on Curry and maximizing his remaining years. The idea of securing a post-Steph future being just as important challenges that belief in the worst way.
Warriors are risking Stephen Curry's remaining prime with looking too far ahead
Is Curry still the player he was at the peak of his powers? No. Is Steph still an elite star who strikes fear into the hearts of every team he faces? Absolutely.
The Warriors risk replicating a Los Angeles Lakers model that did not work out. There are few fans of LeBron James in the Bay Area after the all-time great chose to bypass a move to Golden State this offseason. However, bringing him up as a relevant example of what a franchise should not do matters here.
James was still an elite player for most of his years spent with the Lakers. Despite continuing to remain in conversations with the league's best, Los Angeles failed to truly provide LeBron with a supporting cast that maximized his fading, but continuously elite, years after 2020.
That is where the Warriors are with Curry right now.
The supporting casts in Golden State have ranged anywhere from mediocre to downright disappointing over recent seasons. It has left them mired in mediocrity while Curry has been forced to do more heavy lifting than what should be expected of him at this age.
Individual accolades have still come in Steph's direction during that stretch. All-Star nods, All-NBA selections, even a Clutch Player of the Year award, have all been added to Curry's resume. True, meaningful winning has eluded him.
Instead, every year has added stories of failed star pursuits. James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jaylen Brown are just the latest names to be added to the mix. Curry deserves better.
Does pushing all-in on Steph mean the Warriors are going to be stuck as a bad team in the immediate years that follow his retirement? Probably. However, that is just the price of doing business in the NBA when you have a generational star.
The opportunity to win championship number five in the Curry era should outweigh the prospects of continuing mediocrity in the years that follow his retirement. Somehow, that much does not appear clear for the franchise at this current time.
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