Golden State Warriors Free Agency: Will Underpaid Stephen Curry Leave Next Year?

Dec 02, 2016 09:36 AM EST

With Stephen Curry's impending free agency status just around the corner, the questions about him leaving the Golden State Warriors are already starting to come up. Many believe that being a greatly underpaid superstar would eventually push Curry to part ways with the Warriors to join a different team, such as the Charlotte Hornets.

Despite being the best player in one of the greatest teams in the NBA today, Curry certainly seems unappreciated by his own squad. In fact, based on the salary rankings presented by Basketball Reference, he isn't even on the top 10, 20, nor 50 of the highest paid players in the league.

He's at number 82 with a contract worth $12 dollars, way behind other players such as J.R. Smith, Derrick Rose, Harrison Barnes and Kevin Durant. This then raises the question about Curry's future with the Warriors.

Since he's bound to become a free agent in the offseason, there's a big chance that he'll sign with a different team that's more than willing to offer him a bigger contract than the one he currently has with the Warriors.

Of course, for fans of the NBA, it would be hard to see Curry out of Golden State, and he knows this which is why when asked about his upcoming free agency status, he always says that he's focused on remaining with the Warriors.

However, during a recent interview with the Charlotte Observer, Curry became more open about his options for next year.

According to Curry, he is open to the idea of playing for the Hornets since Charlotte is his hometown.

"I had a strong tie to Charlotte and would have loved to play there," he said. "I'm very comfortable in that city. It's hard to say exactly what the situation will be this summer."

Based on his statement, it seems Curry has listed the Hornets as one of his options if he gets the opportunity to switch teams, which will happen a couple of months from now.

Although signing with Charlotte will probably come as a huge shock to NBA fans, it wouldn't be the first time that a star player left a team that he has been closely associated with. After all, Durant had said that he would never leave the Oklahoma City Thunder. But in a shocking move during the offseason, he immediately jumped on the opportunity to join the Warriors.