The superstar guard for the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry, talked about his future with longtime colleagues Klay Thompson and Draymond Green after the team’s 118-94 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Tuesday in the play-in game between the No. 9 and No. 10 Western Conference.

Curry remarked to reporters, “I can never see myself not with those two guys,” referring to Green and Thompson:

Thompson is scheduled to become a free agent this offseason and may play elsewhere for the first time in his NBA career, while Curry and Green have contracts that expire in a number of years.

Since Green was drafted in the second round of the 2012–13 NBA Draft, Curry, Thompson, and Green have been teammates.

In 11 seasons, from 2012 to 2023, the Warriors qualified for nine postseasons. Additionally, they appeared in the NBA Finals five times in a row from 2014 to 2019 and six times in eight years, from 2014 to 2022, winning four times.

With Curry, Thompson, and Green as its three pillars, the Warriors have been the closest thing to a dynasty since the Los Angeles Lakers three-peated in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Golden State lost in the second round of the playoffs the previous year and finished 46-36 this season, missing out on the play-in round. However, the team is only two seasons removed from its most recent championship.

All three players—Curry, Thompson, and Green—are 34 years of age or older, and their performances during the 2023–24 campaign varied.

Curry, who is 36 years old, is still averaging 26.4 points, 5.1 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.8 made three-pointers a game. He is largely responsible for the Dubs’ opportunity to even qualify for the playoffs.

Despite his lack of offensive prowess, 34-year-old Green was a valuable player in other aspects of the game, averaging 8.6 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per outing while shooting 39.5 percent from outside the arc and 49.7 percent from the field.

Green did, however, get two suspensions for on-court infractions. He was suspended for five games following an altercation with Minnesota Timberwolves center Rudy Gobert, and 16 games were suspended indefinitely following a hit to the face of Phoenix Suns center Jusuf Nurkić.

With an average of 17.9 points per game, Thompson, 34, had one of the poorest seasons of his career—his lowest since his second NBA season in 2012–13.

In addition, he had a game average of 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 3.5 made three-pointers. Thompson had the third-worst field goal percentage (.432) and the second-worst three-point shooting percentage (38.7%) of his career.

Thompson wants to stay with Golden State rather than sign with another team in free agency, according to ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. However, during the season, “there wasn’t much reassurance that there would undoubtedly be a resolution” between Thompson and the Warriors, which “rubbed Thompson the wrong way.”

With additional playing time, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody, and Trayce Jackson-Davis—some of the Warriors’ young, skilled players—may develop.

Although it would be detrimental to the Warriors in the short run, letting Thompson depart would surely give those players more opportunity.

With veterans like Andrew Wiggins, Curry, and Green on the team, Golden State is in win-now mode. Re-signing Thompson and hoping for him to get back to his previous level of play would be a win-now strategy.

The Warriors may decide to split up their Big Three this offseason in an effort to strike a difficult balance between trying to compete while they still have it and trying to develop for the future.