While the Golden State Warriors enjoy their preseason slate, with a side of sunshine at the Hawaii minicamp and a Honolulu matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, one absence is bound to prick Stephen Curry as much as the playoff question that made him walk off during the media availability session.

Yes, there are and will be serious doubts about whether the Warriors can sustain themselves until Jimmy Butler returns early next year. But with the veteran and Moses Moody out due to injuries, less than seven months after stepping on the floor with his brother for the first time in their NBA careers, Curry also faces an uncertain chapter regarding a potential family reunion on the court.

Despite remaining available on the open market, veteran guard and Steph’s younger brother, Seth, is unsigned. He is an unrestricted free agent. We say ‘available’ because Seth expressed confidence in getting “completely healthy” in July while wanting to return to the Bay Area.

“Absolutely,” Seth said when NBC’s Monte Poole asked if he’d be willing to return to the Warriors. “I wasn’t able to do everything I wanted to do on the floor last year, but I always got a lot of love for the organization, the fans, first class. Like I said, it’s disappointing what I dealt with last season.”

However, the Warriors’ front office, which has made very few moves this offseason (not necessarily by choice), appears content to move forward with its current backcourt configuration. A common pattern has emerged, though.

For the second consecutive year, the younger Curry brother is on the outside looking in as training camp unfolds. In 2025, too, Seth signed and was cut from the team before the season opener because of financial constraints. He was later re-signed during the regular season in November.

The 36-year-old sharpshooter had joined the Warriors on a one-year, $2.77 million veteran-minimum deal, fulfilling a long-held dream of sharing the floor with his older brother. In his brief stint in the Bay Area, Seth proved remarkably efficient, averaging 7.1 points, 1.2 rebounds, and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 49 percent from the field and 48 percent from three across 10 games.

During his Warriors debut, Seth scored 14 points, shooting 6-for-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from deep in 18 minutes, invigorating a really good feeling across Dub Nation.

However, persistent health hurdles, Seth’s sciatica issues and Steph’s extended runner’s knee, meant the brothers didn’t get to share the floor together until months later. Seth was restricted to just 133 total regular-season minutes. The brothers played their first game as teammates in April. While the Warriors lost 117-116 to the Rockets, Steph scored 29 points, and Seth added six.

Now, as the Warriors pivot toward younger backcourt depth and defensive length under Brandon Williams and Yaxel Lendeborg, Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. has shown little urgency to offer the 12-year veteran a roster spot or a training camp invitation to retain him.

Seth’s current free-agent stance mirrors the winding road he took to establish himself as one of the NBA’s premier perimeter threats. After going undrafted out of Duke University, Dell Curry’s younger son endured a grueling initiation into professional basketball, making brief stops with the Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, and Sacramento Kings.

He ultimately earned his breakout opportunity during the 2016-17 campaign with the Dallas Mavericks, averaging 12.8 points per game while shooting 48.1 percent from the floor and 42.5 percent from deep in 70 games and 42 starts.

Over a 12-season career that included subsequent stints with the Portland Trail Blazers, Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, and Charlotte Hornets, as well as a second spell in Dallas, Curry built an enviable resume as an elite floor-spacer. Across 560 career regular-season games, he boasts career averages of 9.9 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game while maintaining a sterling 43.3 percent mark from beyond the arc. He even beats his dad and brother, ranking among the highest career three-point percentages in league history!

Despite those credentials and his proven chemistry with Stephen Curry on and off the court, the Warriors’ current roster construction makes a potential return a steep uphill climb. The team maintained its backcourt flexibility during the offseason by re-signing De’Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II while bringing in versatile speedster Brandon Williams alongside big man Georges Niang.

Now, none of them are as good as Seth at shooting the long ball, but the Warriors cannot afford to bet on another aging player outside their core. Earlier this year, Seth revealed there was a month when he “couldn’t move at all” because of his sciatic nerve-related injury.

Steve Kerr’s recent priorities have been devising strategies around Kristaps Porzingis (who was sidelined right before the Hawaii trip) and Al Horford. The head coach is even hyped about Williams’ speed and his dependable ball-handling, calling him “the fastest guy we’ve ever had here.” Given his plans, Seth Curry’s defensive limitations make a late signing quite unlikely.

With respect to his career, Seth admitted to not jumping the gun at all and taking what comes one day at a time. He revealed that his initial goal was to play 10 seasons, and he has ended up playing a couple more than that.

Whether another contender swoops in to acquire Seth’s sharpshooting or the Warriors consider a late-season veteran addition remains to be seen, but for now, the door to a Curry family backcourt partnership appears firmly closed.