Stephen Curry Prefers Warriors Stay Over LeBron James-Style Free Agency

Stephen Curry has once again affirmed his desire and intention to remain with the Golden State Warriors for the entirely of his NBA career, stating as much during a recent appearance CNBC in which he was asked whether a free agency recruitment period like the one LeBron James just went through would appeal to him.

"Not at all," Curry said. "I've always stated that I wanna be a lifer with Golden State. What we've built there, the fact that I get to run it back this year with Draymond and Coach Kerr. All the contract stuff is this NBA thing from year to year is so crazy, things change really fast. But I do know my interest and mission to stay in Golden State and be competitive is there, and the contract stuff will take care of itself."

Curry is entering the final year of his current contract ($62 million) and is, at least for now, on track to become a free agent next summer. He's eligible to sign up to a two-year, $137 million extension that would keep him with the Warriors through 2029, which would be his age-41 season. According to ESPN's Anthony Slater he has been presented with a "menu" of contract options -- anything from a one- to two-year max to even a potential pay cut in the interest of preserving cap space -- that he is currently considering.

"At some point Steph Curry will come back to [the Warriors] and tell them which option he wants," Slater said Thursday. "And if that option is, 'Hey, let's wait on [the extension],' that is because ... it's about future flexibility. That's not about him testing free agency, it's just about the idea of [the Warriors' right now having theoretically about $100 million in cap space [next summer], and if he signs the max that's basically cut in half. ... Steph Curry, at some point, I would guess in the next week-and-a-half, will come to some clarity about if he wants to do an extension now or wait."

> “Steph Curry, at some point, I would guess in the next week and a half, will come to some clarity on if we wants to do an extension now or wait.” Anthony Slater reports on the extension talks between Steph Curry and the Warriors 💰 (via @ESPNNBA ) pic.twitter.com/uGRgMBHaxb — ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) September 17, 2026

Again, this isn't anything new. Curry has never even hinted at anything other than his desire to remain with the Warriors, and he has been emphatic in doing so. He doesn't mince words. He doesn't send cryptic tweets. He just answers the questions clearly, without qualification, and here he is doing so again.

Still, speculation is inevitable. Curry clearly isn't going to go ring chasing, but he has also been clear in his desire to remain a relevant part of the competitive landscape. The Warriors, to a lot of people's eyes, aren't being totally aggressive on that front. They were the last team in the league this summer to add a new player via free agency or a trade. Save for their draft picks, they're basically running back a team that won 37 games last season and missed the playoffs.

They're betting on the health of Kristaps Porziņģis and Al Horford , which are long-shot bets at best, and Jimmy Butler is going to miss a major chunk of the season as he rounds out his recovery from a torn ACL. Steve Kerr and Draymond Green are back, but nostalgia doesn't win in the NBA. Curry is the only true All-Star player left. The West is a collective monster. Unless the Warriors are able to pull off a trade before the February deadline, there is little chance that this team can compete for anything other than a play-in spot.

Which makes it all about the summer of 2027, which is why that big chunk of cap space the Warriors could create is so important. "Could create" is the operative phrasing. There are obstacles. Green and Butler both have huge cap holds. Would they cut one or both of them loose? Would either of them be amenable to a big pay cut? Brandin Podziemski is probably going to get a new contract. Obviously the Curry extension, or even just his cap hold, will take up a significant portion of the space.

Still, the Warriors, who only have about $30 million on the books for next summer right now, are going to have a lot of money to spend one way or another, and Curry is definitely in a position to maximize that flexibility depending on what kind of contract he signs.

The rub, of course, is he'll be 39 next summer and entering his age-40 season. Pushing the competitive timeline back another year at this stage of Curry's career is a risk. This is what the Warriors and Curry are considering as training camp nears and his extension remains unsigned.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/stephen-curry-no-interest-lebron-james-route-free-agency/)._