Why Are the Warriors Saying Goodbye to Seth Curry Just to Bring Him Back Soon?

You know, sometimes the things you expect to happen actually do — and this was one of those moments. From the get-go, when the Warriors brought Seth Curry on board to share the court professionally with his superstar brother Stephen, it was never really about immediate permanence. The plan? Cut him loose temporarily, then bring him back once the dust settled. And finally, on Saturday, that plan played out exactly as scripted. The real twist here isn’t in the cut; it’s in why it had to happen—team salary caps and financial wizardry pushing the Warriors right up against their limits. After signing new contracts left and right, including deals for Jon Kuminga, Al Horford, and De’Anthony Melton, they had to make a tough call to keep things under the hard cap line. Seth was always the one on pause, a detail everyone—from management to Stephen himself—knew. But don’t count him out yet. Seth’s return is on the horizon, potentially as soon as mid-November, when the Warriors can re-sign him at a pro-rated minimum. His sharpshooting prowess—remember, he nailed 45.6% from three last season—is exactly the fit Golden State needs. So yeah, the benching isn’t a goodbye; it’s a brief intermission. Curious to dig into the nitty-gritty? LEARN MORE

This had always been the plan.

From the day the Warriors signed Seth Curry to play alongside his older brother Stephen Curry for the first time professionally, it was made clear that the Warriors were eventually going to cut and waive Curry, only to re-sign him a month or two later. That cut came on Saturday.

Team finances and the tax aprons drove this. The Warriors are hard-capped at the second apron (because they used the taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Al Horford). After agreeing to a new contract with Jonathan Kuminga, then soon after deals for Horford and De’Anthony Melton, the Warriors were bumping up against that cap. One of Seth Curry or Gui Santos had to be waived to get under that hard cap to start the season, and Curry was always the guy going to get the time off (this was clearly communicated with everyone, including Stephen).

The Warriors can re-sign Seth Curry on Nov. 15, when they will have the space to sign a pro-rated minimum contract for the rest of the season. However, the Warriors may wait longer than that, maybe into December, just to give themselves more cushion against the tax apron line.

Seth, 35, shot 45.6% on 3-pointers last season on his way to averaging 6.5 points a game in Charlotte. His shooting and style of play mesh well with the Warriors once they re-sign him, in a month or two.