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Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) and Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) embrace after the Warriors win over the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena on April 3, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors seem intent to enter Year 18 of their partnership with championship aspirations. 

After the season, there was speculation Curry may not want to finish his career as a Warrior, but those rumors have fizzled after reports maintained that Curry and the Warriors desire to reach an agreement on a contract extension this summer.

So what better way for Curry to finish his career than representing the same team as his dear friend LeBron James? 

No, not on the Lakers. On the Warriors. 

According to Spoctrac’s Keith Smith, the Warriors are limited in their pursuit of marquee names this summer, but there is a path they can take to pair Curry and James, two luminaries of the 2010s, before their iconic careers are over.

“Of course, the Warriors will be active on the trade market too,” Smith wrote. “Whether it’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard or another star, expect Golden State to check in. … If the Warriors can maneuver to have the NTMLE to sign a player, keep an eye on the team making a play for someone like LeBron James. There’s been a lot of buzz about James and Golden State for a while now. It would require the NBA’s all-time leading scorer to take a massive pay cut, but it’s a path he may be ready to consider, if he wants to leave the Los Angeles Lakers.”

How the Warriors Can Quickly Flip the Switch

GettySAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 06: Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors dribbles past Giannis Antetokounmpo #34 of the Milwaukee Bucks in the second half at Chase Center on March 06, 2024 in San Francisco, California.

Make no mistake. The Warriors’ 2025-26 season was a disaster. 

If the Warriors desire to finally wiggle their way out of the play-in tournament, where their season has ended in three of the last four seasons, they’ll need to address the roster from top to bottom.

Curry may be entering a season in which he’ll turn 39, and he may be a few steps past his stunning apex, but he still appears more than capable of being a key piece on a championship contender. Maybe not the first-option, but a driving force? Yes. 

Before Golden State can crawl into the race for marquee stars, it must face some in-house questions. According to Smith, the Warriors may be stuck having to decide between two key stars, both of whom could be a strong piece to the Warriors’ hopeful title puzzle.

“Essentially,” Smith began, “when it comes to re-signing and signing players, Golden State is probably choosing between re-signing Porzingis (we’re banking on Green staying no matter what) or using the Non-Taxpayer MLE. Can [Warriors GM] Mike Dunleavy Jr. get a better player than Porzingis for the NTMLE? Maybe, but that’s not guaranteed.”

Not an All-Out Rebuild, Just a Retooling Needed

The Warriors appear old and declining as presently constructed, but that doesn’t mean they are leagues away from contending again. 

They (thankfully) don’t need Sacramento or Memphis style rebuild, they need to retool. 

The Curry-era in Golden State has slowly lost its luster since the Warriors won the 2021-22 NBA championship.

But that’s exactly why they could be aiming for none other than Curry’s close friend LeBron James this summer.

Since their season ended over a month ago, the Warriors have been strongly tied to James and even Giannis Antetokounmpo and Kawhi Leonard.

In May, Dunleavy spoke to reporters about the Warriors’ upcoming offseason and the immediate outlook of the franchise. He stated the Warriors will look to assess multiple routes to improve the roster.

“But we’ll look at everything,” Dunleavy said. “If there’s offers to the pick to move up, move back, trade for a veteran player that could help us, we’ll definitely look at all that stuff. It’s early in the process right now.”

If the Warriors can add one of either James, Antetokounmpo or Leonard, that’s a great start. But they’ll need to construct some solid depth in order to take their title push to the next level.