Even though Stephen Curry continues to dazzle fans and confound opponents with his electrifying play at age 37, there’s no denying that he won’t be playing in the NBA forever. Father Time is unbeaten, and no matter how hard anybody tries to put up a gallant fight, he will eventually catch up.
The Golden State Warriors, the franchise Curry has carried on his broad shoulders for nearly two decades, are aware of this and have made it their mission to ensure the latter stages of the Chef’s illustrious basketball career are as successful and winning as the early ones.
Advertisement
But not everybody is convinced that Curry will end his career with a bang. In fact, NBA legend Charles Barkley recently expressed concern about how Steph’s career could wind down, especially in the wake of Jimmy Butler’s season-ending ACL tear and the turmoil surrounding the future of his young teammate, Jonathan Kuminga.
That relationship is over
The Warriors have been in the headlines lately, but for the wrong reasons: Jimmy Butler’s devastating injury, which has cost the Warriors their second-best player, and Jonathan Kuminga’s unpredictable relationship with the franchise. In Barkley’s eyes, though, he declared that the relationship is over.
Advertisement
“That relationship is over. He’s only playing because Jimmy got hurt, but the relationship is over,” Chuck proclaimed.
Picked seventh in the 2021 draft, the super-athletic 6’7″ forward was once touted to bridge the gap between the Warriors’ present and future. Despite his high potential, Kuminga has found himself in a difficult situation with Golden State, mainly because his style of play reportedly does not align with the Warriors’ preferred approach.
“They must don’t think he can play,” Barkley responded when asked why Kuminga racked up 16 DNPs in a row this season before Butler’s injury opened an opportunity for him to return to action.
Advertisement
“They know him better than anybody. When they did not extend him like all the other rookies were extended, then he had the contentious contract negotiations. They didn’t want to pay him,” Barley continued. “And like I say, we on the outside looking in, they know something that we don’t.”
After getting nailed to the bench for 16 straight contests, Kuminga returned and scored 20 points in 21 minutes against the Toronto Raptors. He also played well against the Dallas Mavericks with 10 points in nine minutes before getting injured.
Steph’s late-career prospects aren’t looking good
Barkley asserted that the best thing the Warriors’ front office could do is recoup their losses and attempt to trade Kuminga. Regardless of what a trade nets them, the Hall of Fame power forward speculated that things will not look good for Curry as he tries to end his career with a bang.
Advertisement
“Listen, the relationship is over. You make the best deal,” Chuck stressed. “The biggest loser in the whole thing is Steph, because they were not contenders. Now Steph is gonna finish the last part of his career on a mediocre team. And that’s the thing that’s disheartening about it because like I say, they were not contenders, but they were solid team.”
The Warriors were indeed solid, winning 12 of 16 games during an impressive stretch. However, they have since lost two in a row and hold a 25-21 record, which is good for eighth in the cutthroat Western Conference. It remains to be seen what the Dubs have up their sleeve in the upcoming trade deadline, but it’s unlikely they will acquire a player whose impact will match that of Butler’s.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jan 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.