NBA AM: Stephen Curry Talks About Being Underpaid

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Warriors guard Stephen Curry talks being underpaid

Outside the arena in the realm of league executives, away from the flashy passes, thunderous dunks and three-point marksmanship one thing is clear: The NBA is a business and run by shrewd business minds who are always on the hunt to capitalize on a situation and in turn maximize potential profits.

We often hear about lopsided deals signed by players where most believe the athlete laughed straight to the bank for getting far and away above their respective market value. But what often doesn’t get attention is when those same league executives are able to pull off the same type of maneuver – on a player.

Case in point.

All-Star point guard Stephen Curry had always been considered a talent who could develop into one of the better options at his position since entering the league. However, the guard was often hampered by recurring ankle injuries early on. When it came time to sign an extension off of his rookie scale deal, Curry jumped at a four-year, $44 million offer.

Curry of course was protecting his future in the event his then shaky ankles couldn’t endure the rigors of NBA life. The Warriors’ management team, while offering an eight figure payday annually, were also banking on Curry being able to rise above those injuries and become a franchise cornerstone.

Fast forward and Curry missed only eight games the past two seasons while averaging well over 35 minutes per night. Curry also developed into an All-Star performer and one of the league’s best, not only at his position but as a whole.

While Curry secured his financial security signing early, he also is arguably the league’s biggest bargain making $11 million annually averaging 23.7 points, 5.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists through 17 games this season.

“Yeah, you expect to continue to get better,” Curry recently told Sporting News. “Obviously, I was in a unique situation, one that I was very comfortable with the decision I made coming off the ankle surgeries.

“I was confident I’d be able to get back, but I didn’t know how long the road was going to be to get back to 100 percent and take my game to the next level. But four years is a long time and you hope you can prove that you’re that max type of player and talent.”

Despite being one of the biggest bargains in the league, Curry maintains he has no regrets signing on the dotted line early and locking in his current deal.

“Throughout the life of my contract, that’s kind of what I’ve been trying to do,” Curry said. “Hopefully, I’ll be able to capitalize down the road, but I never second-guessed my decision at the time and I still haven’t because I thought it was the right one at the time. I’m healthy and playing well and my team is winning. That’s all I’m really worried about.”

The Warriors are currently 15-2 on the season and own the best record in the league.

Kobe Bryant happy with effort of Lakers management team while trying to rebuild

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered through one of the worst seasons in franchise history in 2014 and missed the playoffs – a rare occurrence. However, the team was also playing without its franchise cornerstone All-Star guard Kobe Bryant who was on the mend nursing various injuries.

The 2014-15 campaign has also started slow for the Lakers as the club sits 5-13 and once again seem to be on a trajectory of a playoff-less season. Even with Bryant back in the fold, the Lakers don’t have enough firepower to consistently make noise on a nightly basis.

Despite this consensus view, Bryant feels the Lakers are much better than they’ve shown and maintains he’s not losing his patience even with the losses mounting.

“The idea of me having no patience is misunderstood,” Bryant told Yahoo Sports. “I don’t have patience when we’re not putting the work in, if I see that we’re not doing our job as professionals. If that’s happening, I’ll let my team know about it. But this is not that kind of group. We work. These guys want to get better every day. They’re there early working, they’re there late working.

Bryant also commended the Lakers’ front office for trying to lure superstar talent to the team – although they weren’t able to land a big name to aid in their reloading efforts.

“This organization put forth a lot of effort to try and land some of these top free agents,” Bryant said. “They went for it. I respect that. I appreciate that. Now it’s time for me to go out there and do my job – not whine or complain about it.”  

Bryant, 36, is averaging 25.8 points, 5.4 rebounds and 5.1 assists through 18 games this season. The guard is also shooting a career low 39 percent from the field and 79 percent from the charity stripe.