Instead of taking the biggest contract available, the Golden State Warriors star opted for flexibility while keeping his focus on finishing his career in the Bay Area. Curry agreed to a two-year, $116 million extension with Golden State after becoming eligible for a deal worth as much as $136.7 million. That means he accepted around $20 million less than the maximum available to him.
The decision was not made in isolation. Curry said his wife, Ayesha, and the rest of his family were part of the conversations surrounding the contract. Speaking about how that discussion unfolded, Curry said, via ABC7 News: “That’s why sometimes I realize like, this is not a real place, the NBA, because I can also say, people like, ‘Oh, you stressed out about the decision and all that,’ and the gratitude and understanding, the numbers we’re talking about, and of course there’s team valuations and the salary cap, max numbers and all.
It goes back to my very first contract, the 11 million (per season), 44 (million) that I signed. You sign contracts based on information that you have and what you feel like is right. And you talked about Ayesha, my family, we, everybody’s on the same page of understanding what I have in front of me in the controllables of we got playing good basketball, staying with the Golden State Warriors and trying to end this thing the right way.” Golden State general manager Mike Dunleavy viewed Curry's decision as an important boost for the franchise's flexibility.
He said Curry was “incredibly generous” by taking less money and that the move gives the Warriors more room to build around him. Curry has also made his priorities clear since signing. He described Golden State as home and said finishing his career with the Warriors is something he can control.
At 38, Curry now enters his 18th NBA season with the extension settled and another opportunity to chase a championship in Golden State.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
