NBA Season Preview: Are the Warriors Wasting Stephen Curry's Final Years?

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With the 2025-26 NBA season on the horizon, most teams are set, but the Golden State Warriors find themselves mired in uncertainty. With just nine players currently under contract and a crucial month-long training camp period looming, the team’s lack of action has many wondering if they are squandering the last great years of a generational talent: Stephen Curry.

Set to turn 38 in March, Stephen Curry is entering his 17th season but remains one of the league’s elite. Last season, Curry posted impressive numbers, averaging 24.5 points, 6.0 assists, and 4.4 rebounds per game on solid shooting splits. Despite a mid-season acquisition of six-time All-Star Jimmy Butler, the Warriors finished 48-34, good for the seventh seed in a loaded Western Conference. Their season ultimately ended in a 4-1 series loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the playoffs, a defeat hastened by a mid-series injury to Curry.

The Jonathan Kuminga Standoff

The biggest reason for the Warriors’ stagnant offseason is the unresolved contract situation with Jonathan Kuminga. The young forward, who struggled to get consistent minutes under head coach Steve Kerr during his fourth season, is now a restricted free agent. With the two sides far apart on a new deal, the impasse has effectively paralyzed the team’s ability to make other moves.

Numerous reports have detailed the contract offers from the Warriors, ranging from a three-year, $54 million deal to a more lucrative three-year, $75.2 million offer with a team option on the third year. Kuminga has reportedly turned all of these down, as he is seeking a deal that gives him more long-term control. This puts the Warriors in a precarious position. The team has reportedly refused to include Kuminga in previous trades, with owner Joe Lacob a staunch believer in his potential. However, if Kuminga ultimately accepts the team’s qualifying offer, he would become an unrestricted free agent next summer, potentially walking away from the franchise for nothing.

An Aging Core and Missed Opportunities

The Kuminga saga has overshadowed a pressing concern for Golden State: the team’s reliance on an aging and injury-prone core. While the addition of Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline was a splashy move, he and Draymond Green are now in their mid-to-late 30s. Both veterans have reportedly reached out to Kuminga to urge a resolution, a sign of the growing locker-room frustration.

Meanwhile, the team has been unable to pursue other veteran free agents. While veteran big man Al Horford and guard De’Anthony Melton were once rumored to be potential signings, the uncertainty surrounding Kuminga has kept all offseason plans on hold. The Warriors’ championship window is closing rapidly, and letting a potential young star like Kuminga walk for nothing would be a devastating blow to a team that has already missed out on other targets like Paul George and Lauri Markkanen in recent offseasons.

The Warriors’ inaction this summer has fans asking a difficult question: Is the front office doing what it can to help Stephen Curry win a fifth championship? The answer, at least for now, appears to be a resounding no.