Curry hoping to stay with Warriors for rest of career

SAN FRANCISCO－Stephen Curry wants to play until he's 40, perhaps even beyond. And he wants it to be with the Golden State Warriors the entire way.

Curry said discussions have begun with the team about a contract extension and he is "fully committed". The two-time NBA MVP signed a five-year, $201-million contract in July 2017 that initially was the richest ever, until James Harden topped it with a $228-million extension from the Rockets.

"Everything's on the table right now," Curry said. "It's a matter of just letting things kind of play out the way that they should. That's kind of where we're at right now."

The 32-year-old Curry is entering his 12th NBA season－and he always aimed to play 16 years in the league, just like father Dell did.

"That was always the goal," Curry said on a Zoom call with reporters following the first day of training camp. "Now it's just more so listen to your body. Who knows. You can't predict the future. I've always said I want to play as long as I can play at the level I want to be at and hopefully you can be in that position where you end it on your own terms. Whatever that means, hopefully that is closer to 40."

Curry likes what the Warriors did this offseason to build another title contender after an NBA-worst 15-50 showing during the shortened 2019-20 season, when he was limited to five games because of a broken left hand. That was tough to see after five straight trips to the NBA Finals, so a commitment to winning every season is a must－and "I want to be a part of it," he said.

"Wearing the same jersey for as long as I can, that's a huge goal, for sure. It's an elite club of guys that you look at that have played with the same organization and been successful and achieved greatness in that respect," said Curry, who turns 33 in March.

"That would be an awesome accomplishment, something I've obviously spoken publicly about and very committed to. But that also goes with there's a lot more to be accomplished on the court and again I can't fast forward to what the end is going to be. Enjoy the moment, enjoy the challenges that we have in front of us and what I have left to accomplish as a player."

And when he tells wife Ayesha he wants to play until he's 40?

"I have a floating target on that, for sure. Any time I say I want to play up to 40 she'll definitely give me a little look," Curry said.

Curry was due to make $43 million this season－his salary is expected to be affected by the coronavirus pandemic－and nearly $45.8 million in 2021-22.

"I'm blessed to be in this position and hopefully the conversation every year as I do get into that age you see other guys in the league that are always in that conversation of competing for championships," Curry said.

"That's what you want to hold onto for as long as you can."

On Saturday, Curry and his team were back on an NBA floor for the first time in more than nine months in San Francisco against the Denver Nuggets.

Curry took his pre-game tunnel shot to a new level－literally－before helping the Warriors to victory in their exhibition opener.

Curry normally takes a long shot from the tunnel, but on Saturday night made a shot from up in the stands during warmups.

He then scored 10 points for real in the Warriors' first game since March 10, before the 2019-20 season was halted due to the pandemic.

Kent Bazemore scored 13 points and Damion Lee 12 for the Warriors, who made 11 of 40 3-pointers. Nine of their first 10 shots were from behind the arc. Mychal Mulder made three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished with 10 points. Nikola Jokic had 26 points and 10 rebounds for Denver.

AP