[Windhorst] Curry is now weeks off his extension window. He can extend at any time during the season but this is something you’d want to get settled before the year starts. If Steph does not extend, the Warriors will have $100 million in cap space next summer with enormous financial flexibility’
Stephen Curry’s contract decision could have massive implications for the Golden State Warriors’ future, potentially leaving the franchise with around $100 million in cap space.
Curry has yet to sign a contract extension with the Warriors despite becoming eligible for a new deal, and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst explained on The Hoop Collective podcast how that decision could dramatically change Golden State’s financial outlook.
“If Steph Curry doesn’t extend – and he’s now weeks off his extension window – he could still extend. Just because he hasn’t doesn’t mean he won’t. He can extend at any time during the season. Typically, this is something you’d want to get settled before the year starts, though,” Windhorst said.
Curry is entering the final season of his current contract, while Golden State has made it clear that the franchise remains willing to accommodate whatever contract structure its longtime superstar prefers.
However, if Curry decides against signing an extension for now, Windhorst noted that the Warriors could suddenly find themselves with enormous financial flexibility next summer.
“If Steph does not extend, they have potentially $100 million in cap space,” Windhorst said.
The situation could also influence Golden State’s negotiations with Brandin Podziemski, who is eligible for a rookie-scale extension.
Windhorst previously wondered whether the Warriors could delay an agreement with Podziemski in order to preserve as much cap space as possible, similar to the approach the Utah Jazz took with Walker Kessler.
However, Podziemski’s cap hold would still count against Golden State’s books if the Warriors retain his restricted free-agent rights.
“I’ve even said that that may be a reason why they would not extend Podziemski right now, just to maximize that cap space,” Windhorst said.
“Podziemski’s cap hold, which is what he sits on their books as, even if he hasn’t signed, as long as you retain his rights and you want to make him a restricted free agent, his cap hold is $17 million.”
Because of that number, Windhorst believes an extension with a first-year salary only slightly above the cap hold would have a relatively limited effect on Golden State’s potential spending power.
“If the Warriors can sign him to a contract that’s not too far away from that \(17 million in the first year – and I think he's going to get maybe more than that – if they sign him to a contract that's worth \)19 or $20 million in the first year, for example, it doesn’t impact their books that much,” he explained.
Podziemski is entering the final year of his rookie contract, with Golden State facing a decision on whether to extend him or allow him to reach restricted free agency next summer.
The Warriors currently have very little guaranteed salary committed for the 2027-28 season compared to their present payroll, with Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green among the major contracts scheduled to come off the books.