Warriors in Danger of Losing Steph? Windy Addresses Failed LeBron, Jaylen Brown, Giannis, AD Pursuit

The Golden State Warriors don't seem to be in serious danger of losing Stephen Curry despite failing to land a star teammate for him this year, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.

"No, not in my opinion," Windhorst said during a Monday appearance on First Take. "And let me just say before I go into this, Steph did a fantastic interview. This was a great interview with a great journalist, Marcus Thompson II, who went to Little Rock. First off, Steph being in Little Rock and going to Moses Moody, his teammates' camp in Arkansas so those kids could be involved with him, that's just awesome. And he gave a very even keeled interview beyond that quote talking about how it's going to be a struggle for them to stay relevant and all these things.

"When it comes to this summer for Steph Curry, he is setting up for a very interesting decision and let me explain it to you. He is in the last year of his contract, no player option or anything like that. This is the last year, it's $62 million; huge number, he's worth every cent. On Aug. 29, he has the opportunity to sign a two-year extension. If he wants all the money, and he has earned it in spades, he can get two years and like $135 million. If that's what he wants on Aug. 29, the Warriors will give it to him in two seconds.

"And I know what this question is and it was even posed by Marcus Thompson in this story. If Steph wants to apply pressure to the Warriors, would he hold off on signing that extension to make sure that they keep pressing? But I just want to tell you that there's so many different ways to look at this. If Steph Curry decided not to sign an extension this summer, it wouldn't necessarily mean that the Warriors are in trouble of losing him. It could possibly mean the Warriors are plotting another giant move because Jimmy Butler's in the last year of his contract. When Draymond Green re-signs at some point, it's going to likely be on a one-year guaranteed deal. I'm not sure if they're going to extend Brandin Podziemski or not, but they are in position to clear $130 million, $140 million in cap space if they want, if Steph agrees. And so, while the Warriors are not in a good position now, I know they tried to get Giannis and didn't get him. They tried to get Anthony Davis, didn't get him. They tried to get LeBron, didn't get him. They tried to get Jaylen Brown. I understand that you can brand them in trouble or whatever, but I would just say look what the 76ers were eight weeks ago and then apply this to the Warriors. If you want to give up on them and say they're done, go ahead, you could be right. I don't think that's necessarily the case."

Windhorst added: "I would just say this, if Steph elects to sign the extension in August, that's totally cool, we'll move on and everybody will be fine. If he elects not to sign the extension, it opens up humongous optionality for the Warriors where he could potentially got out and try to get teammates and put a team together in Golden State. And the other teams in the league would be keeping a very close on it, just like they will keep a close eye on Nikola Jokic, who's not going to sign the extension and is headed for free agency. I know what Jokic has said and I know that everyone thinks he's staying in Denver, but if Jokic is going to be a free agent and Curry is going to be a free agent, I would keep that situation under eye for the entire next season."

On Aug. 29, Curry will become extension-eligible with Golden State.

The two-time MVP is eligible to receive a two-year, $136.7 million extension (h/t ESPN's Bobby Marks).

Curry is currently set to earn $62.6 million for his 2026-27 campaign before hitting free agency in 2027.

If he ends up signing the extension, his $65.7 million salary in the first year of the deal would rank No. 3 among all players during the 2027-28 season (via Spotrac).

The Warriors attempted to pair Curry and James this summer, as they were reportedly among the teams trying to sign the NBA's all-time leading scorer before he agreed to a two-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.

Golden State has been interested in handing Curry a new extension, but could end up using his free agency to gain more avenues to land a new star teammate.

The Warriors are coming off a 2025-26 campaign in which they finished with a 37-45 record, missing the playoffs. While it's worth noting that they were hit hard by injuries, they could still be on the lookout for a blockbuster move as they try to contend in the Western Conference with Curry once again.