In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Stephen Curry made it clear that he wants to finish his career with the Warriors, but under certain conditions. Curry addressed the possibility of following in the footsteps of Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki, who remained loyal to one franchise but played on average teams in their later years.
“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’re guaranteed the championship. Winning is always a priority, but you have to be realistic. It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen if you stay the course. You need to shake things up and keep reimagining what it looks like to evolve with what the league is now and where some of these talented teams are.”
Curry emphasized the importance of taking things one step at a time to protect his happiness and enjoy playing. He wants to make decisions that are best for him and his career. “I want to win. Let’s put it this way: if it’s a situation where you’re a bottom feeder and you’re just staying there, I’d have a hard time with that. But I don’t think that’s going to be the reality,” Curry added.
Despite winning a championship just two years ago, the Warriors were knocked out of the play-in tournament last season, and the roster has seen significant changes. Klay Thompson, Curry’s longtime backcourt partner, was traded to Dallas in a sign-and-trade earlier this month, which took away a crucial element of the group that won four titles over the past decade.
Curry admitted it still feels “weird” to think about the Warriors without Thompson, and he expects the reality of Thompson’s absence to fully sink in at 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 ridden into the sunset, all three of us [Curry, Draymond Green, and Thompson] as Warriors for our whole careers. [Thompson] made a decision that he felt was best for himself. What we were able to do for how long we did it together is special and speaks to how hard it is to achieve 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.”
This summer, the Warriors retooled their roster by adding De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson, and Buddy Hield to compensate for the loss of Thompson. Curry also mentioned that young players like Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, and Trayce Jackson-Davis need 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,” Curry 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.”
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