Aside from Tuesday being the first full day of training camp for the Golden State Warriors after the pomp and circumstance of Media Day, it was also a day for the organization to finalize contract agreements they've been waiting for all offseason.
With Jonathan Kuminga agreeing to a two-year contract that could be worth up to $48.5 million if he's traded, the doors finally opened for the Warriors to finalize other contract agreements. Al Horford signed a two-year, $12 million contract with a player option, and De'Anthony Melton agreed to a two-year deal with a player option at the minimum.
On top of all the deals that Golden State finalized on Tuesday evening, Seth Curry's is the most unique.
Finally, the Curry brothers will play alongside one another, as Seth's career is taking a full-circle approach. After going undrafted out of Duke in 2013, Curry signed a non-guaranteed contract with the Warriors and played in the NBA D League (now known as the G League) with the Santa Cruz Warriors.
The sharpshooting 35-year-old guard is the latest veteran to join the Warriors, and he will occupy the team's 15th and final roster spot. However, there are some caveats to the actual contract he just signed on Tuesday that don't actually make him a full member of the team just yet.
Curry signed an Exhibit 9 training camp contract with the Warriors, which is a non-guaranteed contract that protects him financially from a possible injury. While this is technically a “one-year contract,” it's a deal designed to be terminated before the start of the regular season or directly converted to a standard contract.
The main reason why Curry will be waived before the regular season begins and after practicing and playing with the team in the preseason is because of the team's financial crisis.
After signing Kuminga, Horford, and Melton, the Warriors' payroll before Seth is $205.7 million. Since Horford signed for the full taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.8 million this season), Golden State is hard-capped at the second apron — $207.8 million this year.
A one-year contract for a veteran like Seth Curry counts as $2.29 million on the books, which is above the $2 million buffer the Warriors have before the second apron.
What this means is that the Warriors will need to waive Curry before the season begins and then wait until November 15 to sign him for the remainder of the season. The reason Golden State needs to wait until this specific date is that this is when his contract will be prorated to a point where the team can sign him and remain below the second apron.
It is all a money game for the Warriors' front office at this point, which is why Seth Curry has signed, will be waived before the start of the regular season, and then sign again with the team in November.
