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Oh No He Didn't: Anthony Slater on how involved Steph is in personnel decisions: "He's heard, his voice matters. Mike Dunleavy will call him at various points. And obviously, anytime Steph Curry calls, Mike Dunleavy, Joe Lacob, they will pick up, and they'll hear what he has to say. But he doesn't want to be too involved, he never has wanted to be too involved. He called LeBron James this summer as a recruiter, he'll do that, but I'll give you an example. A couple of years ago, the Warriors were deep in trade talks for several players. They ended up trading for Jimmy Butler, but Steph Curry very much values his place as a leader in the locker room. And he doesn't wanna be viewed as moving chest pieces around. He was very friendly with Andrew Wiggins. They had to trade Andrew Wiggins to get any of those trades done. So Steph Curry, I think always is wanted a separation between front office and him. And that's how he's always kept it"
All the power, as it usually does, resides in Stephen Curry’s hands. Saturday, Aug. 29, marks the first day the 38-year-old superstar can sign a max extension with the Golden State Warriors. As he prepares for his 18th season, Curry is entering the final year of his current contract, worth nearly $63 million. The Warriors have made no secret, through general manager Mike Dunleavy’s repeated public statements over the last year, that they would like to get another deal done with Curry before the new season begins. They know he’s the franchise, and they know what he represents to the organization and the Bay Area as a whole.
Dunleavy also said the Warriors are hopeful Draymond Green will also remain with the organization until he retires. Green recently re-signed with the Warriors on a one-year deal after Golden State failed to recruit LeBron James. Dunleavy appreciated Green’s flexibility and reiterated that as Golden State seeks to keep its two future Hall of Famers together until the end. “Draymond’s been an incredible partner for our organization, both on and off the court, for his career,” Dunleavy said. “This summer was no different with his ability to opt out of the deal; it gave us some wiggle room, some financial flexibility. And we worked together on that, and I don’t think there was ever a doubt he’d be back, but he’s always been about the team … he’s no different than Steph in the sense of we hope he retires a Warrior. We want to make that happen, he wants to make it happen, so we’ll see where things go. Our No. 1 priority right now, Draymond will say this, Steph will say this, everybody here will say this, is to win.”
Speculation continues from both fans and the media that Stephen Curry may become so frustrated that he eventually asks out during the final year or two of his career. But that’s still hard to envision given that he has been so consistent in both his messaging about wanting to stay with the Warriors and in expressing his love for the Bay Area. According to one team source, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the organization’s internal discussions, it’s not like Curry isn’t aware of what Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy and the rest of the front office are trying to accomplish. The conversation between the star and the team has been ongoing — for years.
Draymond Green: "I've also seen that Mike Dunleavy and Joe Lacob have gotten a lot of criticism for their lack of risk taking over the last few years, playing it for the post-Steph era. And listen, there's always going to be backlash when you're not winning. It happens to everyone. That's just what comes with the territory. But I don't think going to trade for Jimmy Butler would be considered lack of taking risks, especially signing him to a two-year $121 million extension. I don't think that would be considered a lack of taking risk. I also don't believe that trading for Dennis Schroeder, trying to make something happen, is a lack of taking risk."
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Behind the scenes, however, Golden State continues to signal a reluctance to use Butler's contract when he's injured for a move like that. Consider the strong relationships with Butler held by Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy and coach Steve Kerr. Butler and Kerr are frequently in San Diego in the offseason and known to cross paths.
When Lendeborg was asked whether he had heard from Steph Curry, Draymond Green, or any of the other Warriors veterans since being drafted, he said, “Yeah. Steph actually welcomed both of us in the group chat, the night of the draft. when [Lajae Jones] got drafted [and] I got drafted. “And I reached out to [Curry] yesterday, and I asked him a quick question. And then I reached out to Draymond, as well. Haven’t gotten that response back yet from Draymond yet,” Lendeborg added with a laugh. This prompted Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. to say, “Don’t worry. He doesn’t respond to me, either.”
In his post-draft press conference, Dunleavy downplayed the conversation around the No. 11 overall selection, which turned out to be Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg. Initially, Dunleavy joked that he and Lacob simply disagreed over which was the best golf course in San Francisco.
“As far as the discussion with Joe and I, I think at that point there was probably some talks about trades and things like that, but ultimately we were in all in agreement to land on taking Yaxel," Dunleavy told reporters. "From our standpoint, we knew we were going to pick Yaxel at 11, he was the guy. But you just want to flush him out, make sure you're not missing anything that falls in your lap or makes a ton of sense. So that's what we were doing. And I think Joe was like, 'Come on, just let's go ahead and pick the guy.’ I said, 'Joe, we have time. They give you five minutes.' He was just getting a little anxious about us taking Yaxel. “The good thing was, because we were on the clock, nobody could swoop in and take him ahead of us. So I was willing to be patient with it.”
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Stephen Curry becomes contract extension-eligible at the end of August and the Warriors are confident — no matter how their offseason retooling turns out — that they will strike a deal that sets Curry up to retire as a Warrior. Golden State can present a two-year extension worth nearly $140 million … similar to the extension Jaylen Brown can command starting late in July from Boston. "I'm sure those conversations [will] happen and you can predict where they'll be going," Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy said Friday at a news conference to welcome back Kerr. "I don't see under any scenario where we don't want to figure out a way to have him finish here."
Nick Friedell: Mike Dunleavy on Draymond Green: "The ball's in his court" as far as player option goes. Dunleavy sounds optimistic that Draymond will be here to start next season. He said there's a feeling on both sides that Draymond finishes his career with the Warriors.