With apologies to the city of Charlotte, we should probably not waste another minute thinking about Stephen Curry leaving the Golden State Warriors in the summer. After years of being underpaid, Curry will be eligible for a five-year deal worth about $207 million in July with the Warriors, or a four-year deal worth about $135 million with anybody else under the new collective bargaining agreement, per ESPN's Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein. That's a significant home-court advantage.
The idea of Curry leaving was far-fetched anyway. After his first day of practice this season, he said he plans to re-sign with the Warriors. Later, he said it was hard to see himself anywhere else. He's on a super team, in a huge market, with a chance to compete for championships for years to come. Unless something horrible happens and the joyous atmosphere created in Golden State the past couple of seasons is poisoned, why would he even think about leaving?
The only real bit of drama regarding this is how the front office will handle Curry and Kevin Durant's contract negotiations. Durant is expected to decline his 2017-18 player option and become a free agent again -- if he does and Curry signs for the full max, the Warriors will need Durant to take a small discount if they are to maintain even a tiny bit of financial flexibility.