“It’s good to get (the extension) question out of the way and give complete focus to basketball and to the season.” This was Stephen Curry’s immediate reaction after news broke that the Warriors star had signed on to a one-year, $62.6 million extension with the franchise. The 36-year-old certainly made history with this deal, as the same will allow him to become the third player, after LeBron James and Kevin Durant, to possess more than $500 million in career earnings by the end of the 2026-27 season. Despite this, the player’s recent remark showed that he does not wish to focus too much on the money, and wants to get back to the brink of things. As a result, while Stephen A. Smith recently sent his flowers to Curry, he also highlighted his belief on what is delaying things for the Warriors.
In a segment of ‘The Stephen A. Smith’ show which came out earlier today, the 56-year-old sportscaster was all praise for Stephen Curry over the contract extension. In fact, by highlighting the player’s 62.6% true shooting percentage and other stats, Smith went out of his way to plead “Whatever he’s getting paid, he deserves more. He’s that valuable, he’s that significant, he’s that much of an incredible role model and a champion. He’s that big-time. He deserves even more.” However, Smith also highlighted that Curry’s high stats wouldn’t matter if the Warriors can’t find a Klay Thompson replacement that would help the star player on the offense. For now, he has begun to question whether head coach Steve Kerr may directly or indirectly be preventing this from happening.
“Is it because of Steve Kerr? I’m just asking, I’m just asking, especially after that Jayson Tatum experience in the Olympics, I’m just asking,” said Smith. “Something to think about.”
Steve Kerr has been subject to a series of backlash ever since the conclusion of the 2024 Paris Olympics. While the Team USA roster led by him secured the Gold Medal, several fans and NBA analysts did not appreciate the fact that he limited Jayson Tatum’s on-court minutes, and even excluded him from two of the six matchups. Having only accumulated 71 minutes, the 2024 NBA champion’s playtime was half that of Stephen Curry (140 minutes) and LeBron James (147 minutes). After it was revealed by NBA reporter Marc Stein that Kerr may not choose to return as head coach in the 2027 FIBA World Cup and the 2028 LA Olympics, Stephen A. Smith went on to state “I’m happy he’s gone. If there’s somebody who deserves to celebrate the gold medal the least, it would be Steve Kerr. What he did to Jayson Tatum was unconscionable.”
The ESPN personality has now chosen to connect the 58-year-old head coach’s decision-making in the Olympics to the Warriors’ current dilemma. Ever since Klay Thompson concluded his 13-year run with the Golden State and teamed up with the Dallas Mavericks, the franchise has been unable to find another shooting guard that could complement Steph as well as his ‘Splash Brother’ did. An earlier attempt was made to either bring in Paul George or Lauri Markkanen in. However, George did not give any chance for a trade talk with the Clippers, as he entered free agency and instantly landed with the Philadelphia 76ers. Markkanen, on the other hand, secured a five-year, $238 million extension contract from the Utah Jazz.
For his part, Steve Kerr has been making attempts to ease the tension in the locker room. According to a report by NBC Sports, the coach decided to hold the Warriors’ training camp in Hawaii this time around. While the initiative would only add to the Warriors’ expenses, as the training camp has been held in private facilities in the Bay Area for quite some time, Kerr and the management reportedly wanted an off-site setting for proper team bonding. Therefore, while the coach may not have been able to add a ‘Splash Brother’ for Curry, he is only looking out for the Warriors’ best intentions. This factor may contribute when looking into whether to hand Kerr his contract extension as well.
Will the Warriors provide Steve Kerr with a ‘Last Dance’ type ending alongside Stephen Curry?
The question of whether Steve Kerr’s existing contract would be further extended is something that wouldn’t even come up in a different scenario. After all, it was only back in February when Kerr signed a 2-year, $35 million extension on top of his expiring deal. However, thanks to Stephen Curry’s new $62.6 million contract, it wouldn’t be the worst thing for Kerr now to get a new deal. According to a report by SB Nation, Kerr’s two-year contract was allegedly structured in a way so that he and Steph Curry followed the same timeline, with both deals concluding by the 2025-26 season. Since Curry has now added an additional year, the coach could head up to the office, have a talk with Joe Lacob, and another year on his contract as well.
Fans do not know whether Curry’s new extension would be his last. After all, by the time the terms of the deal conclude, the three-point leader would be 39 years of age. Therefore, looking at how both Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan chose to exit the Bulls after the conclusion of the 1997-18 NBA season, Steph and Kerr can follow the same path and bid adieu to the Warriors together. With the respect that the NBA star holds for Kerr, the hypothetical scenario may even become a reality.
“There’s a handful of player-coach and trio-coach stories in league history that are comparable to ours,” said Curry during an interview. “And that’s not by accident. … He’s been such a consistent presence. Not just the X’s and O’s, but of managing the lows and the highs, mainly the highs, that we’ve been at.” Steve Kerr may not occupy a favorable spot on Stephen A. Smith’s mind at the moment. However, the coach doesn’t have to worry about Curry having the same doubts.
Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.
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