Possible Destinations for Steph Curry Next Season
Several teams besides the Warriors have a great opportunity to sign one of basketball’s brightest stars
The Golden State Warriors have a very difficult decision to make next offseason. Because of the other players they must pay and their cap space, Golden State may have to opt out of paying Curry a max contract. Because of this, Curry could be on the free agent market and will rightfully seek a max contract. Winning back to back Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards and a title will make him a hot commodity to any organization. He will have the league at his feet in free agency, just like LeBron James and Kevin Durant once did. To me, there are only three teams in the league that have a legitimate chance to sign Curry.
Miami Heat
The Heat are a young team trying to rebuild around Hassan Whiteside and trying to find a way to move on from Chris Bosh. This team lacks consistent scorers since the departure of Dwayne Wade, and could immediately improve with the acquisition of Curry. With so much young talent, Miami is trying to be more up-tempo. Pat Riley plays a huge role in this as well, as the President of an operation who knows how to win and land star players. The Heat will have a maximum cap space of $25,533,450 with only four players under contract next season. Pat Riley certainly has the ability to make an enticing offer to Curry next offseason.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers are also a young team that will improve next season. It’s a very intriguing option for Curry because he could remain in the same state and play under his former assistant coach Luke Walton. On this team, Curry can go back to being the superstar in the spotlight. Now, the Lakers brought on Magic Johnson as their new President of Operations — who will go through leaps and bounds to try to make the Lakers franchise superior again. Signing Curry would be a huge start in that process. Next season, LA’s cap space will be at $39,852,366.
Golden State Warriors
The team that has the best chance at landing Curry is the team he’s currently on. With the talent they have remaining, the organization must hope he takes some sort of pay cut instead of taking the ‘selfish route’ and requesting a max contract. Golden State has so few quality bench players that it would be tough to compete against the Cleveland Cavaliers or even the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs of the future. The signing of Kevin Durant for two years has really given this team an opportunity to be a special unit. Whatever Curry decides can make or break the the Warriors’ roster in the future.
Final Take
Curry is in the same position as Dwayne Wade was when the ‘Big Three’ was formed. Wade had to eventually take less money compared to Lebron James and Chris Bosh in order for them to be signed. That seems easier to do for two other players, but for three other players to do so is asking too much — especially when you have Kevin Durant, who we all know is simply ring chasing during a short-term contract. If I were Curry I would say, “To hell with that,” because this is most likely his last chance to cash in on a maximum contract — the age of 29-years-old is usually the peak of an NBA superstar’s career. Go get yours, Steph. You deserve to finally be paid like the superstar you are.
