Curry has been able to sign a two-year max extension for a week, and an ESPN insider would not be surprised if he took every dollar of it.
Stephen Curry has been allowed to sign a new contract with the Golden State Warriors since Aug. 29, and a week later the paperwork is still sitting on the table.
The deal in question is a two-year extension worth up to $136.7 million, which would stack on top of his current contract and keep him in the Bay through 2028-29.
Curry is entering the last year of his deal at $62.6 million, he turns 39 in March, and general manager Mike Dunleavy said in early August that he is confident Curry will finish his career with the team and that the decision is ultimately Curry's to make.
What Slater Expects
ESPN's Anthony Slater gave the most direct read yet on 95.7 The Game.
"I would not be shocked if he takes the max. I would probably be a little bit more surprised if he locked into a haircut now," Slater said, while adding that Curry might wait and see what the team can and cannot get done before he commits.
Slater also said most superstars take every dollar available and that the Warriors would still have plenty of flexibility on a max deal, which lines up with reporting that the front office has handed Curry a menu of options rather than pushing a number on him.
Curry told NBC Sports Bay Area this week that the deal will get done at the right time and will not distract from the team's preparation.
Why Golden State Should Pay the Max
The answer is easy, because Curry is the whole reason to watch this team.
He averaged 26.6 points, 4.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 43 games last season while shooting 39.3 percent from three, and he did that on a roster that finished 37-45 and 10th in the Western Conference with him missing nearly half the year.
Jimmy Butler is still rehabbing a torn right ACL from January and Moses Moody is coming back from a ruptured left patellar tendon, so neither will be ready for opening night, which means the offense starts and ends with Curry again.
A discount would look good in a spreadsheet, but the Warriors already have only about $43 million guaranteed for 2027-28 because Curry, Draymond Green and Butler are all on expiring deals, so the cap space is coming either way.
Golden State has struck out on big trade targets for a few years running, and that has nothing to do with what Curry earns.
What It Means for the Window
The window is exactly as long as this extension, and the Warriors should plan the next three seasons that way.
Training camp opens Sept. 29 at BYU-Hawaii, the preseason starts Oct. 4 against the Los Angeles Clippers, and there is no deadline on the extension because Curry can sign any time before June 29.
The smartest path is for Curry to take the two-year max now, so the front office knows exactly what it has to work with when it goes looking for real help around him next summer.
Waiting keeps his options open, but it also leaves the front office guessing all the way into camp, and a team coming off a lost year could use fewer things to guess about.
