Cauley-Stein Bet On Stephen Curry…And Lost

Willie Cauley-Stein made a bet on Stephen Curry over the summer, and the former Sacramento Kings big man looks to be on the losing end.

News about former Sacramento Kings center Willie Cauley-Stein broke last week in Connor Letourneau’s piece for the San Francisco Chronicle. The article not only sheds light on Cauley-Stein’s character issues throughout his time in Sacramento, but also his gamble in free agency this past offseason.

Near the end of the piece and almost as an afterthought, Letourneau mentions that Cauley-Stein turned down a $9 million deal from the Charlotte Hornets before opting to sign with the Golden State Warriors.

The news about the Hornets’ offer was largely unknown until last week, and brings new light to the decision making that Cauley-Stein went through during the offseason: by turning down that $9 million deal from Charlotte, he was essentially betting on Stephen Curry.

Yes, the Warriors are more than just Curry. Draymond Green is still a game-changer. Klay Thompson was reportedly eyeing a late-February return when Cauley-Stein inked his deal. The acquisition of D’Angelo Russell gave Golden State some extra firepower in order to replace Kevin Durant (who wouldn’t be playing this season anyway.)

But Curry is a generational talent. He is the greatest shooter in the history of the game and has won multiple regular-season MVP awards. When a big man dreams of playing with the Warriors, he thinks about getting lobs from and spacing created by Stephen Curry, not Draymond Green.

Speaking of dreaming of playing with the Warriors, it seems that Cauley-Stein was doing just that while he was playing in Sacramento. Another tidbit from the Letourneau piece:

"This feels like a long time coming for him. Cauley-Stein recalled an exchange before a Warriors-Kings game in Sacramento in January 2017, when Draymond Green and Stephen Curry were stretching near midcourt and told him the Warriors wanted to acquire him.“Shoot,” said Cauley-Stein, who at the time was out of the Kings’ rotation. “I’ll put on a jersey right now.”"

So when Curry collided with Kelly Oubre Jr. and broke his hand two weeks ago, much of the reason for Cauley-Stein signing with the Warriors dissipated. Sure, they still have a dynamic playmaking guard in Russell, but no one affects a defense like Curry.

Gone are Cauley-Stein’s chances of receiving lobs from the best point guard in the game. Gone are the spacing and fluid offense that the Warriors have become known for. The household names that used to grace the Golden State roster have been replaced by the likes of Alec Burks, Jordan Poole, and Omari Spellman.

As a result, Cauley-Stein has struggled. He is averaging under 8 points per game for the first time since his rookie season, and his lowest rebound numbers since 2016-’17. In what was supposed to be a sort of breakout season for Cauley-Stein, his numbers have instead regressed to reflect those of someone who is on a league-minimum contract, which is almost exactly the type of deal that he signed after turning down Charlotte’s $9 million.

In Friday night’s overtime loss against the Timberwolves, Russell and Cauley-Stein combined to score 56 points. Russell had 52 of those.

Can this wager that he took over the summer still end up being a winning one for Cauley-Stein? Of course. Things could turn around for him this year even if Curry is to miss the remainder of the season. He might do a 180 on his reputation and start showing the grit, determination, and hustle required to become well-paid by NBA standards. Unlikely.

There is also always next season. The second and final year of Cauley-Stein’s contract features a player option, which he will almost certainly opt-in to. The Warriors at full strength will likely regain some of the powerful prowess that they’ve been known for, from which Cauley-Stein will benefit tremendously.

But he’ll have to wait at least another year for that big payday that he’s been waiting for ever since he told Sacramento reporters that he’s “ready to get paid” on Kings Media Day just 14 months ago.

The Sacramento Kings will visit the Warriors for the first of four meetings on December 15th at the new Chase Center.