Stephen Curry sets new benchmark, Warriors retain key players
Shortly after midnight on Saturday morning, the defending champion Golden State Warriors inked two-time MVP Stephen Curry to the richest contract in NBA history. It calls for $201 million over five seasons ($40 million annually).
It’s a well-deserved payday for Curry, who had been among the most underpaid professional athletes over the past several years. Remember, he just finished up playing under a four-year, $44 million deal. Though, at least one superstar seems to think Curry got about half of what he deserved (more on that here).
After re-signing Curry, the Warriors also retained key reserves Shaun Livingston and David West. Each player was huge off the bench in the team’s dominant run to the NBA title this past season.
Then, late Saturday night, Andre Iguodala announced that he re-signed with the defending champs. It comes on a three-year deal worth $48 million. It also comes after Iggy himself received a contract offer from the Houston Rockets and was a hot commodity on the free agent market.
Needless to say, the Warriors’ ownership group has decided to continue with this potential dynasty. We’re talking about a team that doled out $273 million in guaranteed contracts to three players. Kevin Durant and a near-max contract is soon to follow.
So while the rest of the Western Conference attempts to build up their talent level to compete with Golden State, it’s still readily apparent that the Warriors are heads and shoulders above the rest. This doesn’t even take in account ring chasers potentially set to join the team on veteran minimum deals here soon.