Stephen Curry knows how quickly things can change. Four years ago, injuries and two lost seasons had made Golden State’s dynasty look like it was fading. And then, Curry was sitting on the TD Garden floor, in tears, with a fourth championship. Now, at 38, after spending more than two months last season on the sidelines, the questions are back.

His right knee kept him off the floor, and when he finally returned, the problem was not something he expected to simply leave behind. Managing it, Curry admitted, had become his “new normal.” That makes Year 18 a little different. Curry is still capable of playing like Stephen Curry. The bigger question is how many more years his body will allow him to keep doing it, and where those years will be spent. Curry may not have all the answers yet, but he now appears to have answered at least one part of that question.

But this time, Curry has an answer. “There’s no question I want to be here the rest of my career, and I’m pretty sure that’s going to happen,” Curry told NBC Sports Bay Area’s Dalton Johnson.
But, at the same time, Curry also made it clear that the extension itself does not need to happen immediately.

“The deal and the contract stuff will happen at the right time, and we’re not letting it be a distraction from our preparation for the season, and the fact that the team we’re coming back with has a lot of familiarity,” Curry said. “The goal stays the same. Extension stuff, we’ll figure that out at the right time.”

That leaves the Warriors with a much more interesting situation than a simple question of whether Curry wants to stay.

He does.

The real question is when the deal gets done and what Golden State can do around him before it does.

Curry has a reason to take his time

Curry is already under contract for the 2026-27 season, when he is set to make $62.6 million. Because of the NBA’s Over-38 rules, he can sign a maximum two-year extension worth $136.7 million that would cover the 2027-28 and 2028-29 seasons.

That would potentially keep Curry in Golden State through his age-41 season.

He became eligible for the extension on August 29 and can remain eligible until June 30, 2027. In other words, there is no immediate deadline forcing Curry and the Warriors to get a deal done this week.

And that is where the outside perspective gets interesting.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst has argued that Golden State may actually be better off if Curry does not rush to sign.

“He is 38 years old. He has said that he wants to play several more seasons. The Warriors are not giving up. They are missing and swinging a lot, but they are still swinging,” Windhorst said.

“The idea that the Warriors are a championship contender this year is ridiculous. They are not. But the idea that the Warriors are finished and cooked and never competing again, I give you the 76ers. They are going to keep trying.”

Windhorst’s argument is not that Curry should leave.

It is almost the opposite.

He believes Curry staying unsigned could give Golden State more options to improve the team.

“I submit [that] the Warriors should say, ‘Don’t sign a contract extension, let yourself become a free agent next summer. We’ll do a one-year deal with Draymond Green. Let’s clear $90 million in cap space and see what we can do in the market next year.’”

Windhorst later explained the financial logic behind that approach.

“On the 29th of August he’s extension eligible for his contract. I have argued that it’s possible and should be considered that Steph not sign his contract extension right now. If he wants to sign right now, he could get two years at $140 million. Obviously, if that’s what he says he wants, you give it to him. But if he doesn’t sign his contract extension right now, the Warriors could have over $100 million in salary cap space next summer.”

That adds a completely different layer to Curry’s comments.

Curry has already said where he wants to be.

The timing of the contract could be part of how the Warriors figure out what they can put around him.

The waiting game is already part of the conversation

Windhorst is not the only analyst who has suggested that patience could make sense.

Kevin O’Connor also expected Curry to take his time before committing to the extension.

“He’s in no rush to sign it. He could sign it next year, through into 2027, but he could sign it Saturday, who knows?” O’Connor said.

He added that he would be surprised if Curry immediately signed the two-year, $137 million extension.

That thinking has a simple logic behind it.

The Warriors still have plenty to learn about their roster.

Jimmy Butler’s health matters. So does Moses Moody’s return. The younger players need to continue developing. And Golden State needs to find out whether its current group can look more like a contender than the 37-45 team that finished last season.

O’Connor and Tom Haberstroh also pointed toward that uncertainty when discussing whether Curry should commit immediately, particularly with Golden State’s health and roster situation still developing.

The Warriors added Georges Niang and Brandon Williams this offseason, but those moves alone were unlikely to completely change the picture around Curry.

So there is a strange balance here.

Curry does not appear to be waiting to decide whether he wants Golden State. He may simply be waiting to see what Golden State becomes.

The trade talk never had the strongest foundation

That distinction is important because Curry’s latest comments come after weeks of outside discussion about his future.

Golden State finished 37-45 last season and was eliminated by Phoenix in the play-in tournament. Curry played only 43 games because of his right knee issue. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody also suffered season-ending injuries.

The Warriors then entered the offseason without making the kind of blockbuster move that would instantly turn them back into a title favorite.

That was enough to create a question around Curry.

If he still has several high-level seasons left, why would he spend them on a team that just missed the playoffs?

But the available reporting did not show Curry asking out or demanding a trade. Much of the discussion was built around what could happen if Golden State failed to build a championship-level roster around him.

Now Curry has removed much of that uncertainty himself.

And he is not the only person inside the Warriors organization saying it.

Golden State has already made its position clear

Warriors owner Joe Lacob has been direct about Curry’s future.

“I don’t want Steph to go anywhere. I really can’t imagine a scenario where he’s going anywhere.”

General manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. has been just as confident.

“I’m pretty confident Steph will finish his career,” Dunleavy said. “There are two things I’m confident about with Steph. He really, really wants to win and he wants to finish his career as a Warrior.”

Dunleavy also said he did not expect that to change simply because Curry became eligible for the extension.

So there is not much mystery about the intentions of either side. Curry wants to finish in Golden State. Golden State wants Curry to finish in Golden State. The hard part is everything in between.

Curry is still giving the Warriors a reason to build around him

There would be a very different feeling around this extension if Curry were simply trying to stretch out the final years of his career.

But his production still gives Golden State a reason to believe there is something left to chase.

Curry averaged 26.6 points, 4.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds in 43 games last season. He shot 46.8% from the field, 39.3% from three and 92.3% from the free-throw line while earning his 12th All-Star selection.

The problem was not that Curry suddenly stopped being productive.

It was that Golden State could not keep him on the floor often enough, and the team could not overcome the injuries around him.

That is why his next contract is not just about money. It is about whether the Warriors can make the remaining part of Curry’s career matter. And Curry has not hidden what he wants those years to look like.

“The goal stays the same.”

But the Warriors cannot control Curry’s body

Last season showed the biggest risk attached to another long-term deal.

Curry missed 39 regular-season games because of right-knee patellofemoral pain syndrome. The issue became something he described as his “new norm” to manage.

He still produced when he played, but availability becomes more important when the contract could carry him through age 41.

That is why the next few months could tell Golden State more than any single offseason signing.

Can Curry stay healthy? Can Butler return? Can Moody return? Can the younger players take another step? Can the Warriors find enough scoring and consistency around their aging core?

Those questions are far more important to the championship picture than the exact day Curry signs his extension.

And there is another reason the Warriors can afford to wait.

Curry has seen this movie before

This is not the first time Curry has chosen to stay when Golden State’s future looked uncertain.

In 2021, the Warriors had just lost to Memphis in the play-in tournament. There were questions about whether the franchise could build another contender around Curry.

He responded by signing a four-year, $215.4 million extension.

At the time, Curry explained why he was willing to keep pushing.

“I’m going to keep doing that until I can’t anymore. I don’t know how long that’ll be but that’s the difference-maker for me.”

Go back even further and the pattern becomes clearer.

In 2012, Curry signed a four-year, $44 million extension while recurring ankle problems had created real questions about his future. His mindset then was simple.

“I could potentially be underpaid. I just don’t want to be that guy who is overpaid. That’s my mission.”

That contract turned into one of the biggest bargains in NBA history and helped give Golden State the room to build its championship core.

The circumstances are different now.

But the decision is familiar.

Curry keeps choosing to bet on himself and the Warriors.

And he is already preparing for Year 18

Perhaps the clearest sign that Curry is not thinking about the end is how he is talking about the season ahead.

“But I’m ready for Year 18. It’s kind of crazy that it’s been this long, and I’m still trying to play at a very high level to help us win, and I’ll be able to do my job.”

Ayesha Curry offered an even closer look at what that preparation has looked like away from the cameras.

“Steph is the hardest-working man in the room. He has no days off. He hasn’t stopped since last season ended. He’s ready. He’s ready to get out there.”

Ayesha also added: “I think we’re going to be in for some fun surprises over the next couple of years.”

There is no need to guess what those surprises might be.

For now, Curry’s message is enough. He is preparing to play. He wants to stay. And he still believes he can help Golden State win.

The contract can come when it comes.

Curry has answered his part. Now it is the Warriors’ turn

Back in 2022, Curry learned just how quickly a championship window could disappear.

The Warriors had fallen from the top. Injuries had changed everything. The future looked uncertain.

Then they found their way back.

Curry is now 38, coming off a 37-45 season and another year in which his body kept him off the court for long stretches. Yet his answer to the biggest question about his future sounds remarkably similar to the one he has given at other crossroads in his career.

He wants to remain a Warrior.

The analysts may debate whether he should sign the extension now or wait. The Warriors may have to decide whether preserving future flexibility is more valuable than locking in certainty today.

But Curry has already made his preference clear.

“There’s no question I want to be here the rest of my career, and I’m pretty sure that’s going to happen.”

Now comes the harder part.

Can Golden State build one more championship team around him before the window closes for good?