Stephen Curry walks off the court after the Warriors’ play-in tournament loss to the Suns at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 17.
Stephen Lam/S.F. Chronicle
For years, the Golden State Warriors were the NBA’s golden child, the team that could do no wrong.
This summer, they’ve morphed into the league’s punching bag.
This image transformation has been brought about by the team’s failed pursuit of LeBron James, the Warriors’ inability to do absolutely anything of interest in this critical offseason, and the near universal belief that they are wasting the final act of one the greatest players in NBA history.
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There’s also the perception that the organization may be taking that player, Stephen Curry, for granted. That may be the reason the noise is getting so loud: Curry is one of sport’s all-time nice guys, never one to publicly bitch or play the prima donna, so the Warriors’ critics feel they need to fight on his behalf.
And everyone wants to see Curry play meaningful basketball.
In the week since James spurned several interested suitors — including the Warriors — to choose the Philadelphia 76ers, run by former Warriors general manager Bob Myers, there has been a firehose of criticism aimed specifically at once-golden Golden State.
Terms like “meek,” “stagnant,” “disastrous,” “non-contenders” and “non-creative” have been fired at the Warriors. They’ve received an “F” grade for their offseason activity, or lack thereof. Curry’s situation has been called sad, pathetic and a travesty.
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And all of this is unfolding in the midst of Curry’s contract extension negotiations. Curry is eligible for an extension at the end of August and told the Chronicle earlier this month that he is “for sure” interested in pursuing that path.
At the best of times, NBA social media is an angry cesspool, full of complaints and conspiracy theories. But this tsunami of Warriors criticism is being leveled by many of the legitimate national voices who have covered the league for years. And it is pointed directly at owner Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy.
The complete absence of action on the part of the Warriors, who went 37-45 last year, is shocking, especially considering how last season petered out so sadly. NBA teams have collectively added 80 new players through trade or free agency this month. The Warriors? Zero.
They put all their efforts into the slim possibility that James would choose West Coast comfort and a buddy movie script over the chance of actually contending for a title. Now, with James off the table, the Warriors are simply running it back, with Curry, Draymond Green (who re-signed this week), as well as Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford. Those four players combined to miss 146 games last season. The only significant addition has been rookie Yaxel Lendeborg, drafted with the 11th overall pick.
Though we all know that hope is not a strategy, that seems to be the master plan for Lacob and Dunleavy. Hope that Jimmy Butler can quickly return to form in midseason once he’s finished rehabbing his ACL injury. Hope that Moses Moody will be able to return at all this season from his patellar tendon injury. Hope that Porzingis, Horford and Green can stay on the floor.
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And, most of all, hope that Curry — who will turn 39 this season — defies time, defies his “runner’s knee” injury, defies anything else that comes up … and hope desperately that he can continue to carry this team on his shoulders.
In recent days, the Warriors’ lack of interest in trading for Jaylen Brown, whose trade to Philadelphia immediately made the 76ers a formidable contender, has been reported. Their lack of interest in making any kind of upgrade that would appeal to James has been examined. Their unwillingness to part with future draft picks, their dogged commitment to financial flexibility and their desire to prepare for a post-Curry future has been put under the microscope.
All of these points can be debated and even defended. Some may believe that the Warriors are being totally savvy by keeping their future options open. Others may point out that the Warriors can’t be trusted with future drafts, having done a horrible job with past draft capital while getting no significant return from their lottery picks in 2020 and 2021.
But there is near universal agreement that the Curry situation is historically frustrating. And that whatever future lies ahead for the Warriors will likely never match the brilliance that Curry has brought — and still brings, when healthy — to the franchise.
All of this is just current perception, but perception shapes reality. Images and legacies are at stake. Lacob has won four championships as primary owner, privately built a state-of-the-art venue in San Francisco and overseen a 2,344% increase in the value of the franchise, from the $450 million he and Peter Guber paid for it in 2010 to the 2025 Forbes valuation of $11 billion.
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But history tells us his legacy is at risk. Chicago Bulls general manager Jerry Krause took over a team with a transcendent star in Michael Jordan and won six championships. But all he’s remembered for now is the way it ended, with the team being torn apart while Jordan clearly was still a force.
Lacob bought a team with a transcendent star, and that team won four championships and made six NBA Finals. But will his legacy be that he wasted the end of Stephen Curry’s career?