Stephen Curry Prefers to Stay With Warriors, But Not as a “Bottom Feeder”
In an interview with Marc J. Spears of Andscape, Stephen Curry expressed his desire to finish his career with the Golden State Warriors, but acknowledged that certain conditions might make him reconsider. When asked if he would follow the path of Kobe Bryant and Dirk Nowitzki, who remained loyal to one franchise despite playing on average teams late in their careers, Curry shared his thoughts.
“It’s tough, right? I’ve always said I want to be a Warrior for life,” Curry stated. “At this stage in my career, I feel like that’s possible. You can still be competitive, but it doesn’t guarantee a championship. Winning is always a priority, but you have to be realistic. It doesn’t mean it’s going to happen if you stay the course. You need to shake things up and keep reimagining what it looks like to evolve with what the league is at right now, with where some of these talented teams are now.
I’m taking it one step at a time to be honest. I think that’s the only way that will protect my happiness. Also, it allows me to enjoy being myself when I’m out there playing. And I’ll continue to make the decisions that are best for me and for my career at the end of the day. I want to win. Let’s put it this way, it’s a long-winded way of saying that if it’s a situation where you’re a bottom feeder and it’s just because you want to stay there, I’d have a hard time with that. But I don’t think that’s going to be the reality.”
Though Curry is only two years removed from a championship, Golden State was knocked out of the play-in tournament last season and the roster is undergoing significant changes. Klay Thompson, Curry’s longtime backcourt partner, was traded to Dallas in a sign-and-trade earlier this month, removing a key element of the group that won four titles over the past decade.
Curry mentioned that it still feels “weird” to think about the Warriors without Thompson, and he doesn’t expect the reality to fully sink in until the start of training camp.
“All things have to come to an end at some point. I wish it would’ve turned out differently,” Curry said. “I wish we could have ridden into the sunset, all three of us [Curry, Draymond Green, and Thompson] as Warriors for our whole careers. [Thompson] made a decision that he felt was best for himself. What we were able to do for how long we were able to do it and together, it’s special and it speaks to how hard it is to do that. So, I’m going to choose to celebrate all the things we accomplished and all the experiences we had instead of feeling any type of resentment.”
The Warriors have retooled their roster this summer, adding De’Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson, and Buddy Hield since losing Thompson. Curry also highlighted Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, and Trayce Jackson-Davis as young players who need to take on greater responsibility for the Warriors to become title contenders again.
“You have to make the necessary adjustments and evolve how we play to maximize the team that we have,” he added. “I have an optimistic attitude that it’s going to work and that we are going to be a competitor, be in the mix until proven otherwise. That’s the only way I can think right now.”
Leave a Reply