Warriors may still have a long-term eye on Stephen Curry and potential future star

The Golden State Warriors are on a roll to start the NBA regular season, albeit they suffered their first blowout loss against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on Friday.

Everything the Warriors are doing right now seems to be predicated on the now -- taking it one game at a time in the hope of stacking as many wins as possible to secure a playoff spot after last season's disapointment.

The Warriors still have an eye on the post-Stephen Curry era according to one insider

Golden State's depth has been a driving force, but it has left one young player shuffled back into the maze of rotation options. Jonathan Kuminga was pushed back to the bench after the first three games, with that having come after the former seventh overall pick failed to agree to a contract extension before the season.

Kuminga has since played well off the bench, but that doesn't eliminate the question of where he fits in the overall landscape moving forward. With the 22-year-old's future again a major talking point, Marcus Thompson of The Athletic believes the post-Stephen Curry era is still a deciding factor in the Kuminga decision.

“I do feel like there's a sentiment in the Warriors where it's like, it's going to hurt if he's on another team and he turns into a superstar, and you're without Steph in three years, right," Thompson said on the Warriors Plus Minus podcast.

As Thompson discussed with Anthony Slater and Tim Kawakami, the question then becomes whether Kuminga is willing to bide his time in the background, and whether the Warriors are prepared to pay the young forward like a star come restricted free agency next offseason?

If neither Kuminga or Golden State are prepared to balance patience with the financial aspect, then there's a legitimate chance that their union could come to and end -- whether by before the February 6 trade deadline or in free agency during the summer.

Some of Kuminga's star qualities were on display against the Cavaliers on Friday, having been one of the lone positives from an otherwise nightmare performance. Kuminga had 14 first-half points on 5-of-8 shooting, finishing with a team-high 21 points to go with six rebounds and five assists in the 136-117 defeat.

The idea of the post-Curry Warriors has been a prominent one since the initial thought of a "two-timeline plan", and while they've seemingly shifted away from that in large part, the youth on the roster will still be a huge consideration in potential moves they make in the coming months.