NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Steph Curry wanted LeBron James to come to the Warriors. He thought Golden State had a chance. His reaction to finding out his fellow all-time great chose the Philadelphia 76ers?
“That’s why you don’t envision anything until it happens,” Curry said Saturday from Moses Moody’s youth camp here. “There’s a lot of moving parts.”
By the time Curry talked about James’ decision, which shifted the balance of power in the Eastern Conference, he’d already resettled back into Golden State’s reality. The same one that existed before James announced his departure from the Los Angeles Lakers.
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The disappointment of missing out on yet another difference-making addition, something to get the Warriors out of the play-in purgatory they’ve been in the last four years, had already morphed into acceptance.
No Giannis. No Jaylen Brown. No LeBron. No Anthony Davis. No one’s holding their breath for Trey Murphy III. No Aaron Wiggins or Isaiah Joe.
It might just be Yaxel Lendeborg. And maybe Mario Hezonja. And prayers for the speedy recoveries of Jimmy Butler and Moody. And hopes Kristaps Porziņģis, entering his 12th season, can play 60 games for the fourth time.
The grand possibilities came down to James choosing to ride with Curry for a most fascinating journey. Once he didn’t, Curry quickly returned to the truth of his situation, one he’d already grappled with months ago.
“The through line,” he said, “which is hard on anybody in this situation, especially with us keeping this thing together, is knowing that when Jimmy got hurt and Moses got hurt, the whole calculus of everything changes. How do you get through their absence and still stay at a certain level? And then how that goes into this year. It’s the same deal. So I’m a realist on that.”
Curry, 38, is entering his 18th season, but isn’t exactly shifting priorities. The objective at this stage of his career isn’t difficult to decipher — even as he remains careful about how he articulates it. He wants to win. He wants the best team the Warriors can assemble around him. He wants a chance, a real chance, for a deep playoff run. The longer it takes for him to sign a contract extension, the more you can bet Curry’s using potential free agency as a tool to keep the Warriors pushing toward that end.
With LeBron James passing them over, Steph Curry and the Warriors’ options for immediate improvement have worn thin. (Adam Pantozzi / NBAE via Getty Images)
But Curry doesn’t share the outrage of his loyal followers because, as he acknowledged Saturday, he knows what’s really happening behind the scenes. He knows what was actually on the table for the Warriors and what was conjecture. And whatever he knows, it hasn’t prompted him to publicly express frustration with Golden State’s approach.
That leaves them hoping for some magic. The kind former Warriors executive Bob Myers just pulled off for Philadelphia. The Warriors, even with Curry, don’t seem to have that kind of magic.
So reality comes with a bill. And Curry, as always, is being asked to pick up the check.
It means one more year of him having to carry an offense almost completely reliant on him. One more year of scratching out every win possible while hoping it doesn’t burn him out.
That was his fate on Jan. 19 when Butler tore his ACL, then reiterated on March 23, when Moody tore his left patellar tendon.
“And you hope that they both come back healthy,” Curry said, “and we can play at a level that keeps us relevant and competitive and builds a foundation so that we can figure out what it looks like. But that is the situation. We don’t live in any alternative universe.”
That might be the most succinct description of these Warriors. The alternative universe might be tantalizing. But this one has caveats and circumstances.
In this universe, Butler’s $56.8 million expiring contract hasn’t been so attractive to potential trade partners, and certainly not a great enough return for the Warriors to go back on their desire to keep Butler. Golden State seems to have more confidence Butler can return to his former level than the rest of the league.
In this universe, the Warriors aren’t willing to cash in all their available first-round picks unless it puts them in contention. And they’re pretty stringent about the players who they think will do that.
Also in this universe — fortunately for Warriors fans — Curry usually plays better the season after ones in which he played fewer than 60 games.
He played just 26 games in 2011-12. The following season, he led the Warriors to the second round of the playoffs.
After playing 51 games in 2017-18, he was first-team All-NBA the following season.
He played just five games in 2019-20, the Warriors’ worst season in history. In 2020-21, he averaged a career-high 32 points and said the league wouldn’t want to see the Warriors the next year. Golden State won a title in 2022.
He played 56 games in 2022-23. The following year, he won Clutch Player of the Year and played 70 games for the first time in seven years.
Curry totaled 43 games last season, and the Warriors missed the playoffs after losing their second play-in game at Phoenix on April 17. It’s been a full offseason of rest and recovery.
History says a rested Curry can be dangerous. History also never asked a nearly 40-year-old Curry to do this.
The Warriors will need a turn-up season from Curry. But at his age, while battling runner’s knee, it’s asking quite a bit. He’ll have to carry the Warriors without reinforcements. The Warriors’ six highest-paid players — including Draymond Green, who opted out but is expected to re-sign — are over 35 or battling back from significant injuries. In the case of Butler, it’s both.
But the Warriors’ hopes for a late playoff run require their aged squad to be healthy for the postseason.
First, they have to get there.
And that is where Curry’s realism becomes especially poignant. Not because he has declared himself content. Or because his urgency has disappeared. But because the circumstances have narrowed what Golden State can reasonably expect while simultaneously increasing what it asks of him.
Curry, it seems, has come to grips with the demands. At minimum, survive one more half-season, or one more season, until reinforcements come. Hang on until Butler and Moody return. Keep the Warriors on the right side of the standings. Keep them competitive. Build with the youngsters. All while kicking the pipe dream to the next window of opportunity. All while Curry’s own clock keeps ticking.
Maybe since they couldn’t land some major help, the front office can get him some moderate assistance. If not someone who can carry the team in his stead, someone who can be additive to their goal of survival. Such has seemed impossible for Golden State, save for Butler two Februarys ago.
“Sure,” Curry said, “I’m hopeful for all the creative ideas of getting the best team possible. We had those conversations. But when you have injuries at the top like that, it’s always gonna change.”
That tension shapes this coming season. The calculus, or the equation, has changed. But somehow, the answer remains the same.