"People are completely making a bunch of crap up," those are the strong words of Warriors owner Joe Lacob, forcefully denying trade rumors regarding star player Steph Curry.
Rumors have surfaced over the past few weeks in relation to the aging NBA legend. Although Curry's loyalty to the Warriors is well-known, given that he secured four championships with the team in his career, some commentators have suggested he might be getting itchy feet in the twilight of his career.
Notably, the team also failed to secure LeBron James recently, who instead switched from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Philadelphia 76ers, a trade that shocked many. Fans were left frustrated by the failure, and some believed Curry might share in that frustration as he aims to secure a Championship before retirement. The Warriors are just 2% to win next season.
Earlier this month, some news outlets reported that the Boston Celtics had approached the Warriors looking for a deal for Curry. This prompted a drop in the odds for Curry remaining with Golden State, and a rise in the Celtics odds by 10 points. These swiftly returned to normal though after reporters confirmed Celtics owner Brad Stevens had not, in fact, made an offer.
“This is just a clickbait thing from all these people that do this kind of thing these days”
Now, Lacob has taken it upon himself to address the situation. Asked by reporters if he could envision 38-year-old Curry ever trying to leave, the team owner said: "This is just a clickbait thing from all these people that do this kind of thing these days, and there seem to be a lot of them." He described Curry as "incredibly happy with the organization."
Odds for Curry to remain a Golden State Warrior are 94%, as per Kalshi at the time of writing. The Celtics are the next closest option, but now a move there is priced at a small 2%, followed by San Antonio Spurs at 1%.
The Warriors are expected to extend Curry's contract before training camp for the new season in a deal worth $136.7m over two years.