Warriors GM fails to quell Steph Curry speculation with recent comments

Mike Dunleavy Jr.'s tenure as the Golden State Warriors' general manager has gotten off to a tough start.

He's failed to significantly upgrade the roster around Stephen Curry, missing on top targets and only acquiring aging players. He couldn't maximize Jonathan Kuminga's trade value and has been reluctant to move draft picks or younger players to help the team win while they still can.

That's why, after another failed offseason and missing out on LeBron James, people are speculating whether Steph Curry would want to sign a new contract extension or ultimately force his way out of a team that has seemingly given up on him.

When asked about it, the Warriors' GM admitted that, while Curry has given him every indication that he wants to stay, he'd honor a potential trade request.

The Warriors wouldn't oppose a Steph Curry trade 

"Ultimately it's his call, his decision, whether that's allowing his contract to run out and move on," Dunleavy said, per ESPN's Anthony Slater. "Look, if he comes to me and wants to be moved, [controlling owner] Joe [Lacob] and I will talk it through. We wouldn't love it. But he's earned the right to do what he wants. But as far as the messaging or any idea that he'd be anywhere else, that's not a thing we're looking at or he's looking at."

In Dunleavy's defense, he's going to be forced to answer questions about Curry's future. But those comments won't do much to ease speculation. He might be inadvertently speaking it into existence.

Perhaps, an empty, P.R.-trained non-answer would've been better here, and while Curry has most definitely earned the right to finish his career with a team that can give him another shot at a championship, just putting it out there makes it sound like a stronger possibility than it might be.

At worst, it will only fuel more rumors and will potentially prompt other teams to pick up the phone and inquire about his availability. Is he trying to start a bidding war, or was it just a Freudian slip? 

Whatever the case, this distraction is the last thing this team needs after failing to secure a single outside free agent in the offseason.

The Warriors' front office has swung and missed on almost every goal since Bob Myers' departure, and Dunleavy's comments have usually done more harm than good.

He tanked Kuminga's trade value by openly admitting that there was no market for him, and he's now — perhaps unbeknownst — opened the door for Curry's departure.

The Warriors are failing the greatest player in franchise history, and his loyalty to the organization would be the only real reason he'd want to stay with them; it definitely wouldn't be because of their own merits.