The 43.3% shooter is available, affordable, and openly willing to return, but a reported LeBron James pursuit means every roster spot now has a price, and Golden State’s front office may not be able to afford sentiment. Golden State’s off-season calculus is simple on paper: maximize Stephen Curry’s remaining championship window. In practice, it’s gotten complicated, and one of the complications is wearing Curry’s last name.

He addressed the status of his career with NBC Sports Bay Area’s Monte Poole at the 2026 American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe recently. Curry did not hesitate to back his on-court performance despite a frustrating season.

“I mean, I played well when I was out there, but I was… I mean, I missed three months with … my back injury, came back, got hurt again,” Curry said. “I mean, the story of really the whole season for our team was just injuries, and I was one of the main guys that got hurt for the longest. And, like I said, but, I mean, positives was, I mean, we had talent on the team and we had a team that we knew we could compete if it was healthy. But, for myself, like, I had flashes of good play, but it was frustrating, for sure, not being able to help the team with all the other injuries. I knew I would have a big role if I didn’t get hurt as well. So, it was frustrating.”

It was, by any measure, a wasted year. Seth had originally signed a one-year, prorated veteran minimum deal worth roughly $2.8 million in December 2025, only for persistent back issues to limit him to just 133 minutes across 10 games.

Stephen and Seth didn’t share the floor until April 2026, by which point Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody were already sidelined, the Warriors had been eliminated from the Play-In Tournament, and the window Seth was brought in to contribute to had effectively closed.

What he carries into free agency, though, is harder to dismiss than his box score suggests. His career 43.3% three-point shooting- a mark that actually edges out Steph’s 42% is the kind of complementary precision contending rosters rarely find at veteran-minimum cost. And he’s not asking for much.

Now an unrestricted free agent, the 35-year-old guard is taking things year-by-year but made it clear he is ready to return to the Bay Area if called upon.

“I mean, absolutely,” Curry answered when asked about returning. “I feel like, like I said, I weren’t able to do everything I wanted to do on the floor last year… but, I mean, I always got a lot of love for the organization, the fans, first class.”

Poole noted Curry’s career 43.3% three-point shooting, which not only exceeds Steph Curry’s 42% but also remains a highly valued asset.

Curry is confident his ability to adapt will land him a role, whether in San Francisco or elsewhere:

“I think that’s what’s allowed me to last over the years… just adapting to kind of playing my role and being timely and being efficient with less touches.”

At the moment, the Warriors are aggressively pursuing LeBron James while adding pieces around Steph. The dilemma for Golden State lies in balancing sentimentality and elite shooting, where every roster spot is at a premium.