The Good and Bad of Steph Curry's 2-Year, $116M Extension with Warriors

Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors agreed to a two-year, $116 million extension on Friday.

The maximum Curry could have extended for was $136.7 million over two years, and there's little doubt the Warriors would have given him that contract if he demanded it. So by taking about $20 million less, Curry is giving the Dubs some financial flexibility for the 2027 offseason and beyond.

It's expected that he'll make $55.7 million in 2027-28, which is exactly $10 million less than his max would have been. He'll have a player option for the 2028-29 season.

Curry's sacrifice could serve the Warriors well, but not everything about this extension is positive.

Let's go over the good and bad.

The Good: Warriors Will Have Better Options in 2027 Free Agency

The Warriors could have about $70 million in 2027 cap space if they renounce all of their free agents and release Kristaps Porzingis (his 2027-28 contract is partially guaranteed for $3 million).

That would allow them to make a max offer for any top-level free agent, including Nikola Jokic (however unlikely it is that he'd leave Denver), Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Davis.

What's more likely is the Warriors don't have that much cap space because they keep Brandin Podziemski, who is extension-eligible until the eve of the regular season. But if Podz signs for about $20 million AAV, they'd still have about $50 million in cap space, which could be mostly used on Brandon Ingram, Michael Porter Jr. or Tyler Herro—or a different player of that ilk.

Or they could go for two players each in the $25 million range.

(Note: If Podz doesn't sign an extension, he'll go into 2027 free agency with a $17 million cap hold. That hold would eat into their cap space. The Warriors would theoretically have more 2027 free-agency options if they don't extend him now, but from a practical perspective, an immediate extension with a starting salary in the $17 to $20 million range wouldn't change their plans.)

After they use their cap space, their best spending power tool would be the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

If they could get Jimmy Butler to agree to that contract—with a starting salary of about $16 million—that would be a home run. If Butler wants more, he can be one of their cap space targets, and they can use the NTMLE on someone else.

Their last major order of business would be trying to get Draymond Green back on a veteran minimum contract. Green would be underpaid with that contract, but it wouldn't shock me if he agrees to it to help the Warriors build out the rest of the roster.

The Dubs would be far from guaranteed to be a contender with a 2027 free-agency spending spree, but they would at least have a chance to dramatically improve the roster's talent.

The Bad: No Pressure on Front Office to Help Curry

The Warriors front office has repeatedly chosen to prioritize the post-Curry future over the present, and now Curry has given away any leverage he had to make them change their priorities.

Using the threat of not re-signing with the Warriors and testing free agency was the leverage play.

Maybe team governor Joe Lacob and general Mike Dunleavy Jr. would have been so sure Curry was bluffing with that leverage play that it would have had no effect on their decision-making. After all, Curry has been steadfast about being a Warrior for his whole career.

But now Lacob and Dunleavy can choose to keep all of the Warriors' future first-round picks with no threat of losing Curry.

In theory, the Dubs' 2027 free-agency plan is filled with hope. But in practice, it could be seen as another sign they are taking Curry for granted.

Curry is 38 years old. The Warriors don't have a good enough roster for championship contention this season even if Butler returns from his torn ACL playing at the level as he was last year.

They need to make a trade for a player capable of star-level impact to not waste another year of Curry's career. And that trade will likely cost multiple first-round picks.

I've argued that trading three first-round picks for Trey Murphy III would be justified due to his combination of talent, upside, youth and cheap long-term contract (three years, $87 million remaining).

Getting Murphy now would give the Warriors much less cap space for the 2027 offseason, and losing the draft capital would hurt, to be sure (though I explain why it wouldn't be mortgaging the future here).

But not only is Murphy more intriguing than the 2027 free agents the Warriors will have a realistic chance to get, but he'd give Curry and Co. a chance to make noise this season.

That should be the priority. The Golden State front office shouldn't be able to get away with thinking, "If we wait one more year, we can maybe get Brandon Ingram in free agency, which would allow us to keep our draft capital and maybe make us a tough out in the playoffs."

Curry decided not to put pressure on the Warriors with this extension. In fact, now he can't be traded until next offseason, so even the "threaten a trade demand" leverage play is off the table.

Curry seemingly has faith the Dubs front office will make the necessary moves for title contention if the team proves worthy of a midseason upgrade.

Perhaps his faith is misplaced.

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