Stephen Curry had hoped LeBron James would end up with the Golden State Warriors, but his calm reaction to James signing with the Philadelphia 76ers showed he was prepared for a different outcome.
“That’s why you don’t think about anything until it happens,” Curry said while speaking at Moses Moody’s youth camp. “There are a lot of moving parts.”
While Curry has avoided publicly expressing his displeasure, Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic believes the Warriors superstar may be tired of the team continuing to pursue big-name players instead of building around its existing roster.
“I think he’s probably a little tired of being star-struck,” Thompson said on KNBR.
The Golden State Warriors have spent the past few years looking for another superstar to pair with Curry.
The Warriors signed Jimmy Butler in 2025 but have since explored potential moves involving LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jaylen Brown and Anthony Davis. None of these pursuits ultimately resulted in another blockbuster product.
Thompson thinks Curry might prefer a different approach now.
“Let’s give me some hungry young guys and we’ve got it,” Thompson said, imagining Curry’s potential perspective. “Shall we go the Davidson route? Let’s go [Southern Conference] route. Just build the best team possible. “
The four-time NBA champion acknowledged that Golden State’s priorities have changed following serious injuries to Butler and Moody.
“The whole calculus of everything is changing,” Curry said. “How do you get through their absence and still perform at a certain level? And then what happens this year. It’s the same deal. So, I’m a realist in that regard.”
Curry also made it clear that he was focused on reality rather than hypothetical scenarios.
“We don’t live in any alternative universe,” he said.
Thompson believes the repetitive cycle of waiting for another superstar has worn Curry down as he enters the final year of his contract.
“His championship hopes are tied to something else entirely,” Thompson said. “And I think he prefers it to be associated with him.”
READ MORE: Kendrick Perkins gets real on Heat turnover, signals LeBron James reunion
