Four NBA championships for the Golden State Warriors, but did the franchise pay Stephen Curry his worth? Well, considering that Curry reportedly signed a 1-year, $62.6M extension with GSW, it does seem so. But what about the initial phase of his career with them? Anyone but Gilbert Arenas believes that the 10x All-Star received a good deal back then. However, that was not the original point that Gil was trying to make.

The former Warriors star started the discussion on Gil’s Arena with his viewpoint that dynasties are made off of bad contracts. “If I can get one of you stupid to sign some bad deal, it helps my franchise build. Like New York. Like what Brunson did,” he said. Well, Jalen Brunson himself left the money ($113 million) on the table to let the New York Knicks expand the team without having to worry about the cap limit. Something that even Gil pointed out but phrased it as a bad deal.

However, the ex-NBA star then went on to use Stephen Curry as an example to further his argument. “Steph Curry signed a bad deal, which created a dynasty. If Steph Curry was Steph Curry earlier, he would’ve signed a rookie max, which would have handicapped him in the back end. Okay, but because he signed a bad deal at the beginning, it created a back end dynasty,” he said.

As per Spotrac, Steph signed a rookie contract worth $12,700,262 across 4 years. And then he signed a 4-year extension contract worth $44 million once his rookie deal ended in 2013. The 3x All-Star believes Curry would’ve landed a better contract if he was the Curry that he later became.

When the Warriors first signed, the 10x All-Star was already battling with serious ankle issues. And things became even worse when he was nearing the end of his rookie contract. He played just 26 games in season 2011-12. “I feel like I’m never going to be able to play again,” Curry had said, as per ESPN after the 2012 procedure on his ankle.

So maybe, the deal wasn’t all bad. A better term would be low-paying contracts, which surely helped the Warriors gather more talent, as Gil pointed out. However, the 3x All-Star is not the first one of the opinion that “bad contracts” form dynasties.

Stephen Curry’s teammate from the Warriors shares a similar viewpoint as Gilbert Arenas

Scottie Pippen’s underpayment during the Chicago Bulls’ reign in the 90s shocked many viewers of The Last Dance. And it certainly caught the attention of Warriors forward Draymond Green. Watching the documentary, Green saw an interesting parallel between Pippen’s situation and that of his teammate Steph during his early years with the Warriors.

“I think the two greatest teams ever in the NBA were built on bad contracts,” Green said, in an interview with UNINTERRUPTED. While we have already discussed the circumstances of Curry’s contract, Pippen’s was a different story. Pip signed a 7-year, $19,445,000 (as per Spotrac), which multiple aides close to the Bulls star advised him against.

Even the Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf had said that he would’ve not signed the contract if he was Pippen. And unlike Curry, the 6x NBA champ had no injury issues surrounding him. So maybe this could make the bad deal Arenas wants to make a case about.