In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Stephen Curry emphasizes his desire to finish his career with the Warriors, but admits there are circumstances that could make him think about leaving. Curry’s comments are in response to a question about whether he would be willing to follow the path of Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki, who remained loyal to one franchise but wound up playing on average teams late in their careers.
“It’s tough, right? I’ve always said I want to be a Warrior for life,” Curry said. “At this stage in my career, I feel like that’s possible. And you can still be competitive, it doesn’t mean you guaranteed the championship. It doesn’t mean winning. Winning is always a priority, but obviously you’re realistic. It doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen if you stay the course. You need to shake things up and keep re-imagining what it looks like to evolve with what the league is at right now, with where some of these talented teams are now.
“I’m taking it one step at a time to be honest. I think that’s the only way that will protect my happiness. Also, it allows me to enjoy being myself when I’m out there playing. And I’ll continue to make the decisions that are best for me and for my career at the end of the day when it comes to just the imagination. I want to win. Let’s put it this way, it’s a long-winded way of saying that it if it is a situation where you’re a bottom feeder and it’s just because you want to stay there, I’d have a hard time with that. But I don’t think that’s going to be the reality.”
Curry is only two years removed from a championship, but Golden State was knocked out of the play-in tournament last season and the roster is starting to undergo significant changes. Klay Thompson, Curry’s longtime backcourt partner, was sent to Dallas in a sign-and-trade earlier this month, taking away an important element of the group that captured four titles over the past decade.
Curry said it still feels “weird” to think about the Warriors without Thompson, and he doesn’t expect his absence to fully sink in until the start of training camp.
“All things have to come to an end at some point. I wish it would’ve turned out differently,” Curry said. “I wish we could have rode into the sunset, all three of us [Curry, Draymond Green and Thompson] as Warriors for our whole career. [Thompson] made a decision that he felt was best for himself. What we were able to do for how long we were able to do it and together, it’s special and it speaks to how hard it is to do that. So, I’m going to choose to celebrate all the things we accomplished and all the experiences we had instead of feeling any type of resentment.”
The Warriors have retooled their roster this summer, adding De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson and Buddy Hield since the loss of Thompson. Curry also pointed to Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski and Trayce Jackson-Davis as young players who have to take on greater responsibilities for the Warriors to become title contenders again.
“You have to make the necessary adjustments and evolve how we play to maximize the team that we have,” he added. “I have an optimistic attitude that it’s going to work and that we are going to be a competitor, be in the mix until proven otherwise. That’s the only way I can think right now.”
Thibodeau had one year left on his current contract, so the new deal will begin 2025 and will run through the 2027/28 season.
“You can count on Sam. He comes to work every single day with the right mindset and attitude,” president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in a statement. “His shooting gets most of the attention – but his feel for the game, defensive versatility, and his consistency as a teammate have allowed him to impact our team in the biggest of moments. We are excited Sam has decided to extend his contract with the Celtics.”
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (