Curry On 2017 Free Agency: “I Want To Be Here”

Along with the return to NBA players and coaches to training camps this week, we also got the return of players in contract years answering questions about their future plans. Of course, at this point in the league year, very few players – Rudy Gay excepted – will even hint that they may considering leaving their current teams next summer, and Stephen Curry provided no surprises on that front. Asked about his 2017 free agency, Curry replied, “I want to be here. That’s it” (Twitter link via ESPN’s Marc Stein).

The Warriors will head into the 2016/17 season as significant favorites, and if they can win another championship this season, there’s little doubt that Curry will continue his relationship with the franchise for the foreseeable future. Still, while it’s hard to imagine things not working out in Golden State upon Kevin Durant‘s arrival, there’s no guarantee it’ll be smooth sailing from now until next June, so we’ll have to wait to see how the year plays out.

As Stein tweets, Curry could be in line for a maximum-salary contract in the range of $165MM over five years next summer if he sticks with the Warriors. Those figures are based on the NBA’s most recent salary cap projection of $102MM for the 2017/18 league year, which would mean a starting salary of $28.8MM for players with Curry’s experience. If Curry were to sign with another team, his salary under a $102MM cap would max out at about $123MM over four years.

Curry ranked first in the initial installment of our 2017 free agent power rankings earlier this month, one spot ahead of his new Warriors teammate (Durant).

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