Warriors Notes: Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, roster moves

Stephen Curry wants to finish his career with the Warriors. Joey Akeley of Warriors On SI⁠ wonders whether Golden State has earned that loyalty.

That’s Akeley’s question, not an indication that Curry is privately unhappy or considering leaving.

Still, the clock makes it worth asking. Curry is 38 and under contract through 2027. Golden State has Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green beside him, but enters another season projected closer to the middle of the Western Conference than the top.

The Warriors have pursued major players. They simply haven’t been willing, or in some cases able, to outbid competitors unloading multiple first-round picks.

That restraint protects the post-Curry future. It also risks wasting what remains of the Curry present.

Some of the criticism is unfair. Acquiring Butler stabilized the franchise, and making a reckless trade merely to prove urgency would accomplish little. The right player still must become available at a price Golden State can reasonably pay.

But championships rarely arrive through reasonable behavior alone.

Curry continues to express faith in the organization. The Warriors eventually must reward it with more than another fight for the final playoff spots.

Green’s green light

Steve Kerr wants Draymond Green to shoot when defenses leave him open.

No, the Warriors are not turning Green into Curry.

“We have to cut back on the turnovers,” Kerr said on the Tom Tolbert Show. “I want him shooting the three when he’s open.”

Akeley examined the math in a separate Warriors On SI analysis⁠, and the conclusion supports Kerr’s request.

Green made 32.6 percent of his threes last season but improved to 34.7 percent when no defender was within six feet. That remains below average, but the shot can preserve offensive flow, create rebounding opportunities and prevent defenses from completely ignoring him.

The alternative sometimes is worse. Green led the NBA in turnover percentage last season. Passing up a clean three to force another pass, search for Curry or dribble into traffic doesn’t automatically produce a better possession.

Nobody needs Green hunting contested jumpers or launching eight threes per night. The Warriors simply need him to stop treating a wide-open one like it violates team policy.

Sometimes the right basketball play is the obvious one.

Camp moves

The Warriors have added guard Nick Boyd and forward Elias Ralph on training camp contracts, according to Paul Garcia of The Spot Up Shot⁠.

Boyd averaged 9.0 points across seven summer-league appearances with Golden State. The 25-year-old spent six seasons in college and completed his career by averaging 20.7 points and 4.3 assists at Wisconsin.

Ralph played three seasons at the University of Victoria in Canada before transferring to Pacific. The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 16.7 points and 6.8 rebounds last season while shooting 40.9 percent from three.

Golden State also waived Jacksen Moni after signing him to an Exhibit 10 contract. Moni can collect a $91,000 bonus if he spends at least 60 days with the Santa Cruz Warriors.

Boyd and Ralph also appear more likely to land in Santa Cruz than on Golden State’s opening-night roster.

That isn’t nothing. Exhibit 10 contracts frequently are less about making the NBA team immediately than getting a player into an organization’s development system.

Boyd can score. Ralph brings size and shooting. Their first job is ensuring the Warriors want to keep watching.