Stephen Curry Discusses James Harden Trade Rumors, Warriors Contract, More

Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry brushed off a report that the Warriors expressed interest in disgruntled Houston Rockets star James Harden in an appearance on Damon, Ratto & Kolsky.

At the start of the month, Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported that the Warriors had checked in on Harden, who has reportedly requested a trade away from Houston and has yet to join the team for practice this season.

Curry said the rumor was just that:

"What was it? Probably Like two or three years ago? There was a rumor that LeBron was gonna leave Cleveland and come play for us. There's all type of stuff that you hear. And that's all part of the small world that is the NBA rumor circles and whatnot.

"Some of the stuff you kind of laugh at. Some of the stuff is just a part of the business but until anything happens in this league, you kinda just brush it off. It's part of the nature of the business."

The guard also talked about his reaction to Klay Thompson's second consecutive season-ending injury and discussed his thought process regarding his impending decision on a contract extension with the Warriors.

Thompson had surgery to repair a torn ACL in the summer leading up to the 2019-20 season and hasn't played since June 13, 2019, when the Warriors fell to the Toronto Raptors in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.

Curry learned about the injury around 4 p.m. on draft day when he received a call from president of basketball operations Bob Myers, which he expected would contain news about the team's plans for that night.

"It wasn't many words said," Curry recalled (8:26 mark). "It was just letting me know what happened. Obviously, your heart sinks, you don't really know how to respond in a moment like that because it is so unexpected and there was so much excitement for him coming back."

He said he called Thompson immediately:

"It's really about the human being, first and foremost. For a guy that has to go through another year of rehab and being away from the team ... the only message I had was like, 'Let us be that support for you, that backbone for you as you go through this, and now you're not alone and that you have a lot of years left to play."

As Curry makes his own return from a broken hand that limited him to just five games in a pandemic-shortened season that saw the Warriors go 15-50 without their two stars, he has the opportunity to sign a three-year, $156 million extension that would begin in 2022. But he must make a decision by Dec. 21 if he plans on getting the deal done this year, per ESPN's Bobby Marks (h/t Jenna West of Sports Illustrated).

The 31-year-old, who has played with the Warriors since they drafted him with the No. 7 pick in 2009, said he doesn't feel "pressure" to make a decision but reaffirmed his stance that he wants to spend his entire career in San Francisco (at 11:52):

"I just feel like I know that I'm committed to being here. I talk about how I want to play here for the rest of my career and that is a priority and an importance in terms of how I see things. We'll see what happens in 13 days, but either way it goes, I don't plan on switching jerseys anytime soon."

Curry, who is set to begin his 12th season in the league, told reporters Monday that he wants to play for at least 16 years.