Stephen Curry props door open for eventual Warriors departure

The NBA offseason never sleeps. Just when you think it's quiet, that it's safe to turn away and watch some baseball or hit up your local hiking trail, it strikes. We are truly spoiled with the volume of gossip and hypothetical that we, as basketball fans, get to consume on a daily basis. This is one of those special days.

It has been a transformative offseason for the Golden State Warriors. Klay Thompson is gone, which opens the door to possibilities we never before imagined. The Splash Brothers were more or less joined at the hip, connected not by blood, but by something deeper. Shooting touch.

Watching Klay leave for the Dallas Mavericks is the basketball equivalent of Anakin Skywalker joining the Sith. Steph is Obi-Wan, occupying the higher ground, gazing out at his lost brother with mournful regret. The Jedi Way, no more.

Okay, let's get back on track here. The Warriors have undergone quite a few changes. The front office has operated with newfound aggression, freed from the financial shackles of Thompson and Chris Paul (nee Jordan Poole). Paul George fell through, and Lauri Markkanen might fall through too, but this is a team dedicated to building a winner around Curry.

And yet, those efforts are moot if the on-court product doesn't meaningfully improve. Buddy Hield, De'Anthony Melton, Kyle Anderson — all these signings are great on paper, but the Warriors still haven't made that foundational shift necessary to inspire full-blown confidence from the fandom. Curry is still great, but it's fair to wonder if his teammates are up to par.

Now, confronted with the fact that his Splash Brother has left, Curry is leaving the door open for his own departure. It's an era of palpable discomfort in the Bay.

Stephen Curry leaves option of departing Warriors on the table

The Golden State front office has made it abundantly clear that Steph can have whatever he wants to stay in San Francisco, which has to leave Klay feeling a certain type of way about how his summer played out. Curry essentially has carte blanche from Warriors management. If he wants the full max until the end of his career, he probably gets it. Especially if his performance remains remotely close to his Hall of Fame standard.

And yet, Curry very purposely leaves the door open with those comments. He does not want to leave Golden State, but he doesn't want to stick around for a rebuild either. The Dubs were in the Play-In Tournament last season. Draymond is on the decline, while Kerr's once infallible status has since been tarnished. The Warriors got better this summer, and we can expect leaps in production from the up-and-comers, such as Brandin Podziemski and Jonathan Kuminga. And yet, so did the rest of the West. The question is, did Golden State get better enough? And what happens if their trade overtures for Lauri Markkanen go unrequited?

It doesn't take long for narratives to shift in the NBA. Curry is under contract through the end of the 2025-26 campaign. He has two years left on his contract with unlimited leverage in the Golden State front office. He already spent last season toiling in mediocrity. Now his closest basketball friend is gone, leaving the Warriors feeling almost alien. Curry without Klay; it's unthinkable.

If we don't see meaningful progress from Golden State, the birds will start chirping and the vultures will start circling. Curry is well versed in dealing with the NBA media. He's a savvy dude. He is very purposefully applying pressure to the front office with these comments. If the Warriors' slide continues, and it no longer feels like Curry can win a championship in the Bay, don't expect bad vibes and feelings of stifling obligation to keep the band together.

Remember the Beatles? One Direction? Hell, the Jonas Brothers broke up. Golden State is officially treading on thin ice.