Warriors quiet offseason dooms Steph Curry’s glorious career to mediocre ending

Judge the two greatest NBA players of this generation by the way they spent their summers.

LeBron James, after his fifth championship, left nothing to chance. The King methodically evaluated the league’s rosters, liked how the Sixers looked after adding Jalen Brown and signed a minuscule contract to secure a new, potentially final home for his throne.

Steph Curry, also looking to join the exclusive five-ring club, has left everything to chance. At least, he put his faith in Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., who in turn decided to leave the twilight years of Curry’s magnificent career resting on a roster that won 37 games a year ago.

The Warriors signed zero free agents this offseason. They made no trades. Steve Kerr is back, albeit with some new assistants and a rookie he will almost certainly have to play big minutes.

Yaxel Lendeborg aside, that’s it. 

Golden State will add a few more players to get its roster to 15, but largely, re-signing Draymond Green to a $28 million deal put a ribbon on its roster moves.

“All in all, pleased with our offseason,” Dunleavy said Tuesday. “We like this team.”

Dunleavy held court on a videoconference with reporters, ostensibly to put a wrap on the Warriors’ summer. But there wasn’t much, if anything, to wrap up.

There’s still no timetable on the returns of Jimmy Butler or Moses Moody; their injuries will keep them out into this season. Still no progress on an extension with Brandin Podziemski, though Dunleavy affirmed the Warriors’ desire to get one done. 

And still little to no hope of Curry getting that fifth ring with the roster currently surrounding him.

“If people knew the cold calls I made offering a lot of stuff for players, I think they’d realize how hard we’re trying,” Dunleavy said. “We’re super aggressive.”

Golden State missed out on Giannis, lost the LeBron sweepstakes and reportedly didn’t try for Brown. Many of the calls Dunleavy made were about players who ended up not being moved.

The end result was the same: Curry enters his age-38 season with the same supporting cast that lost in the play-in to the Suns, who went on to be unceremoniously swept by the Thunder.

The Warriors re-signed Kristaps Porzingis. Re-signed Al Horford. Re-signed De’Anthony Melton. Re-signed Gary Payton. Re-signed Green. Drafted Lendeborg. Let Quinten Post walk.

“We had to make a decision between talent and availability,” Dunleavy said. “There was no perfect solution in terms of the combination of the two. I think we leaned a little more toward talent … and hope that we can get some good luck, but also improving some areas medically.”

That’s placing a lot of eggs in the baskets of the health of Porzingis and Horford, who combined to play 60 games for the Warriors last season. Even Curry, while still at the top of his game, is hardly a bastion of health. He was limited to only 43 games last year with a knee issue that Dunleavy described as “delicate” and “something we have to be mindful of.”

Still, Dunleavy said “I see a path” to a championship with the roster as currently constructed. But he added, “We need to get healthy. We need to stay healthy. And then we need to evaluate and see where we’re at. And if we need to get better, I know we can get better.”

Dunleavy indicated that the Warriors will be active in their attempts to improve the roster during the season. Just like this summer. They’d better hope for different results.

If Curry was any other superstar—LeBron, for one example—he would either already be out the door or at least putting immense pressure on Dunleavy to do more.

That’s typically how it goes in the NBA. But that’s not Curry, who has expressed a desire to play for only one team, unlike James, who will suit up for his fourth franchise this season.

Curry is under contract for one more season, at $62.8 million.

Dunleavy expects a deal to get done when Curry is eligible for another extension later this month. He hasn’t heard anything to indicate otherwise from the superstar’s camp.

But did he also speak the unthinkable into existence?

“I’m pretty confident Steph will finish his career here,” Dunleavy said. “But ultimately that’s his call, his decision. 

“Look, if he comes to me and wants to be moved, Joe [Lacob] and I will talk it through. We wouldn’t love it, but he’s earned the right to be where he wants and do those things. But as far as the messaging or any idea that he would be anywhere else, that’s not a thing we’re looking at or he’s looking at.”