While Stephen Curry continues to recover from the right quad contusion he sustained in the Golden State Warriors’ loss to the Houston Rockets, the Dubs will still have a Curry active for their rematch with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
After finally signing Seth Curry to a contract for the remainder of the season, the sharpshooting brother of Stephen will be available to play against the Thunder, according to head coach Steve Kerr. Curry was an active participant at Golden State’s practice, and at his subsequent media availability, he expressed his eagerness to help the Warriors as soon as possible.
“It feels good,” Curry said when asked how it feels to be officially inked to a deal with the Dubs. “It was a weird little break for me. First time in a long time watching NBA basketball and not being a part of it. Good to be back in the gym, be around the guys, and get the blood flowing again in practice.”
Golden State held off on signing Curry sooner due to financial restraints associated with the second apron. With the Dubs’ hard-capped at the second apron, they could initially keep only 14 players rostered heading into the season. This forced them to wait until the end of November to create enough breathing room for his contract to prorate to the point where the salary hit would adhere to the second apron hardcap.
The Dubs could have signed him as soon as November 10th, but held off in doing so to save more space beneath the second apron, as well as save themselves from more luxury tax penalties. Curry’s signing leaves Golden State roughly $265,000 below the second apron.
How Curry has kept himself ready while waiting
But while Golden State’s financial restrictions kept Curry sidelined for the first quarter of the season, the sharpshooter kept himself ready physically for when he got the call.
“Just tried to stay in the best rhythm as possible as far as getting into the gym every day,” Curry recapped to reporters. “Getting my workouts in, staying sharp, trying to get some live play, with trainers or other players whenever I [could]. It’s been tough mentally, but it kind of flew by.”
The mental aspect of having to wait around for a promise from a team is challenging, even if that team employs your brother, who also happens to be that franchise’s greatest player ever. When asked for a follow-up on the mental challenges of waiting for a contract, Curry expanded on what he did to stay positive.
“I knew they would come eventually,” Curry said.
“So just kind of looked forward and tried to stay positive. My agent was always telling me, when you’re in the league or around it, those 20 games go by so fast, this will be no different. So my agent was helping me keep my mind right and also talking to Steph. Getting his pulse on the team, and him asking me what I see from the team and things they can do better on the floor. I was fine, it was just weird not being in the locker room every day, going to shootaround, or going to games for the first time in 12-13 years.”
The main thing Curry did in his downtime was get his body right. He said he wanted to make sure when Golden State did sign him, he would come in fully healthy so he could “hit the ground running.”
How Curry will help his brother and Golden State
What Curry brings to the Dubs speaks for itself. Seth ranks 8th all-time in three-point percentage, ahead of his brother Steph, with a career 43.3% from beyond the arc. He brings spacing, off-ball movement, and some much-needed scoring to an offense in need of some juice.
“I think everybody around the league knows what I bring to the table as far as my game,” Curry said when asked how he fits into the Golden State formula.
“Being able to spread the floor, make shots, create offense, I feel like, with my movement. I’m a little underrated on the ball as far as playing ball-screens and the dribble handoff game, and creating that attention from the defense. [The Warriors] know what I bring, the league knows what I bring, so just trying to provide that as soon as possible.”
Kerr echoed Curry’s evaluation of himself.
“He gives us another great shooter. A guy who’s really solid with the ball, total pro,” Kerr said. With Curry entering the fold and De’Anthony Melton nearing a return after rehabbing from his ACL surgery, the Warriors will have a lot of options at the guard position moving forward. When asked how he sees the rotation shaking out with such a deep guard rotation, Kerr did not share his specific plan but did say nothing is set in stone.
Regardless, Golden State is excited to have Curry and his shooting. And while he and his brother will have to wait a bit to share the court on the same team, he will look to give the 11-10 Warriors a spark in the meantime.