The Golden State Warriors signed Seth Curry as an undrafted free agent out of Duke, likely as a favor to his superstar older brother Steph; he never played for the Dubs. However, over the decade since, Seth proved to be a valuable NBA role player and now has signed a contract with the Warriors to join his brother on an NBA roster for the first time in their careers. The news, which was first reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania, is far from a surprise, since rumors tied the two sides together early in the offseason.
Seth’s current status is a little bit confusing. Charania, while breaking the news of Jonathan Kuminga’s deal, referenced his colleague and salary cap specialist Bobby Marks saying that Kuminga’s contract will prohibit the Warriors form signing a 15th player until November 15. But shortly after that, Charania tweeted that the Warriors had signed the younger Curry, and that he’d be at practice on Wednesday. It could be that there’s some cap maneuvering going on that we’re not aware of, or perhaps the Warriors are signing Seth to a non-guaranteed deal so that he can get up to speed at training camp, and then he’ll be cut before the season and re-signed in November. We’ll have to wait and get a bit more clarity.
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Curry began his professional career with the Warriors G-League affiliate after finishing his college tenure at Duke. After an impressive G-League stint, Curry oscillated between the G-League and NBA, receiving stints with the Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Phoenix Suns before landing a consistent role with the Sacramento Kings in the 2015-16 season. Ever since, Curry has been one of the best role player shooters in the league, making 43.3% of his threes on four attempts per game over his career.
Last season, Curry followed in his father’s legacy with the Hornets. He appeared in 68 games (14 starts) and averaged 6.5 points. 1.7 rebounds, 0.9 assists, and 0.4 steals in 15.6 minutes per game. Curry led the league with a 45.6% three-point percentage. Despite his shooting, Curry has limited other impactful NBA skills, and can be overmatched defensively at times.
At the moment, the younger Curry does not project to have a prominent role on the Warriors depth chart, at least heading into the preseason. He’s an undersized shooter best suited for an off-ball role, and Brandin Podziemski is currently projected to be the starting shooting guard next to Steph while Buddy Hield is firmly entrenched as his primary backup. De’Anthony Melton also quickly ingratiated himself with the Warriors last season before tearing his ACL and is a more well-rounded combo guard.
However, that doesn’t mean Seth has no chance at a larger role. Injuries can always test a team’s depth and Steph’s age alongside Melton’s long injury history will likely create opportunities in the backcourt. Curry will likely be competing with rookie second-round pick Will Richard to be the fifth guard on the depth chart behind Steph, Podziemski, Hield, and Melton. Richard is a significantly inferior outside shooter and is at a significant disadvantage in that race.
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Furthermore, the seeming redundancy of Curry on the roster might actually be a sign of general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr.’s mid-term strategy. Hield has been an excellent role player with the Warriors, but is also making about $9.2 million this season with only $3 million guaranteed in 2026-27. In other words, Hield’s contract should be very easy to trade at the deadline if the Warriors need to match salary. As valuable as Hield has been, having the younger Curry ready in the wings to replace his shooting could make it easier to make an aggressive move in February.