The Warriors have prematurely renewed a $62.5 million contract with Curry. This move not only fills the contractual gaps in the existing main roster but also allows the Warriors to peacefully use three years to search for successors without changing the basic structure.
With the current roster – euphemistically speaking, it’s a mix of veterans and rookies, but bluntly speaking, there’s a gap between the old and the young – it’s unrealistic to compete for the championship. Therefore, I believe that finding successors is of greater significance.
Any team will inevitably experience peaks and valleys, which is an inevitable cycle brought about by the aging of core players. Curry is already 36 years old and will be 38 in two years. This new contract covers the 2026 – 27 season, and he will be 39 after playing, which basically means that Curry will end his career with “one team, one city”.
We can look at Curry’s signing situation: he signed a 5 – year contract worth $200 million in 2017, and then prematurely renewed a 4 – year contract worth $215 million in 2021, which expires in 2026.
Because each signing can be at most 5 years, there is a one – year gap between Curry’s contract and the later renewals of Draymond Green and Wiggins. Suppose he leaves the Warriors or retires in 2026, but Draymond Green and Wiggins still have one year left. Now the one – year gap is just filled. And according to the NBA’s “38 – year – old rule”, he can only renew this one year, and then negotiate every year in the future.
Three years, with a stable structure, for a peaceful transition.
General Manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. has two main tasks in the next three years: first, to lose weight and reduce burdens. When there is no hope of competing for the championship, ensure that the luxury tax threshold is not exceeded to ensure the flexibility of future operations; second, to find Curry’s successor.
There are two ways to rebuild. One is to completely tank to obtain high – draft – pick rookies, just like the Spurs found Tim Duncan and Victor Wembanyama. The other is a short – term adjustment, trying to find the next core in the shortest time and at the smallest cost, and rebuild around him.
The Spurs are a small – market team with little market fluctuation, so they can afford big ups and downs in performance. The Warriors are in a big market. San Francisco is one of the three major cities in the United States. Even if they can’t win the championship, they can’t cause a major blow to the market. Therefore, the Warriors need to ensure the basic performance in the next three years, at least with the hope of making the playoffs every year.
Keeping Curry is keeping hope.
As for whether the future successor is found from the rookies or through trade, we can only take it step by step. Ideally, one of the young people like Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski can emerge, but there seems to be insufficient evidence now.
Through this renewal, Curry will become the first player in the NBA to earn more than $60 million annually. Previously, the contracts signed by Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown also included years of $60 million, but both of their annual salaries will reach more than $60 million one year later, starting from 2027.
There is a baseball team in San Francisco called the Oakland Athletics. The total salary of all players this year is $62.5 million, or $62.3 million. Whichever number it is, it means that Curry’s personal salary starting two years later will exceed the income of all players of this baseball team.
Of course, Curry is worth the price. He is not only the sign of the Warriors but also the sign of the entire league. The current labor rules also favor top players, and the NBA’s luxury tax policy controls the total expenditure of the team.
The NBA really is not short of money. Not to mention that the valuations of all teams are skyrocketing, but the broadcast they signed with Disney, Comcast, and Amazon are worth $76 billion in 11 years, an average of $6.9 billion per year. According to the principle of 50 – 50 sharing between owners and players, players should receive nearly $3.5 billion every year.
As an advertising sign, Curry’s annual income accounts for 1.7%, which is not much.
As advertising signs, Curry, LeBron James, and Kevin Durant have all reached $500 million in career playing income. They are the only three members of the “Five – Hundred – Million Club”.
There will be more and more members of this “club” in the future. 20 years ago, James, as the first pick, had a first – year salary of $4 million. Four years later, Durant, as the second pick, had a first – year salary of $4.17 million (the first pick Greg Oden had $4.66 million). Two years later, Curry, the seventh pick, had a salary of $2.71 million (the first pick Blake Griffin had $4.98 million).
In this summer’s draft, the first pick Victor Wembanyama has a first – year salary of $12.57 million, the second pick Scoot Henderson has $11.24 million, and the seventh pick Bilal Coulibaly has $6.84 million.
Around 2030, the NBA will usher in its first player with an annual income of $100 million.
Predecessors plant trees, and successors enjoy the shade. When drinking water, one should not forget the well – diggers. The world should be like this.
