The Golden State Warriors rejected superstar point guard Stephen Curry’s demand for a no-trade clause when he signed a five-year, $201-million deal, meaning they could easily trade him at some point during the agreement. According to Marcus Thompson of The Athletic, Curry wanted to include a no-trade clause in the supermax deal but the Warriors declined his request. Also, the Warriors rejected Curry’s request to make the final year of the deal a player option.
A no-trade clause puts a huge question mark on the relationship between Curry and the Warriors.
If the Warriors want to make Curry the biggest star in franchise history after leading them to two NBA titles, then they should have agreed to put the no-trade clause on his contract. Without a no-trade clause, it will be easy for the Warriors to trade Curry. The Warriors must have learned about what happened to Carmelo Anthony during his stint with the New York Knicks, who had a hard time finding a trade partner for the 10-time All-Star during the offseason. The Knicks got rid of Anthony only when he included the Oklahoma City Thunder to his list of preferred destinations.
Warriors considered not giving Curry a max deal
Curry will earn $34.68 million during the 2017-18 season and $37.4 million the following year.
The deal will give Curry salaries of $40.2 million, $43 million and $45.78 million in the next three years. Before signing the supermax deal, Curry earned just a total of $44 million in the last four years. Thompson also reported that the Warriors also considered not giving Curry the supermax deal. Initially, Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob wanted to offer Curry a contract extension whose value was below the maximum level.
However, general manager Bob Myers convinced him to make the right offer to keep Curry in the Bay Area. Curry’s $201 million deal was the richest contract in league history before Russell Westbrook signed a $205 million deal with the Thunder.
Extension for Steve Kerr on hold
Warriors head coach Steve Kerr decided to postpone all negotiations about a contract extension until 2018.
Kerr has two years remaining on the five-year, $25-million deal that he signed with the Warriors in 2014. However, Kerr has been dealing with complications following back surgery in 2015 that have hampered his coaching job. If Kerr can get through the 2017-18 season without any health issue, then he can agree to an extension next summer.
