In early September, with a glass of wine in his throat, Horford chatted with Curry at the dinner table.

Eight days before Horford signed with the Golden State Warriors, the soon-to-be veteran center had dinner with the Warriors players in San Diego. Horford believes his approach is "old school" in today's NBA. He never became "too close" to his opponents.

"If you are my teammate, I fight side by side with you, I support you, I am completely on your side," Horford said in an interview with the American media. "But all these halftime hugs after games, camaraderie. No. " The atmosphere at that dinner was casual. Training camp starts in a week. Horford has yet to officially sign due to Kuminga's contract impasse, but he is committed.

As the drinks went down, Horford didn’t want to discuss any sad past in the playoffs with Green and Butler. But Curry opened up the conversation in a very "Curry" way.

"We talked about the first game. " Curry said.

In the first game of the 2022 NBA Finals, Horford hit 6 three-pointers and scored 26 points in San Francisco, giving the Boston Celtics the initiative in the series. At the time, he was eager to win his first championship in the 15th season of his career. It was one of the best games of his career, but it was followed by one of the most heartbreaking experiences.

"Then we talked about Game 4, " Curry said. "When we took the win away from him. "

In perhaps the most legendary game of Curry's NBA career, he overcame the pain of a foot injury to score 43 points in front of an electrifying Boston crowd, regain control and turn the series around to win his fourth championship.

In July of this year, three years after that Finals showdown, Curry received a text message from Horford.

Insiders said that Horford made his own decision to join the Warriors and did not require the traditional recruitment process. Green recalled asking general manager Dunleavy later this summer if he needed to make a call to Horford.

"You can call him, but the signing has been decided. " Dunleavy told Green.

However, that conversation with Curry was important to Horford. That text message led to a phone call in mid-July. Curry is not only the face of the team, but also the teammate closest to Horford (39 years old) in age (37 years old). Horford wanted to consult Curry about the medical team and maintenance plan, which is crucial for Horford, who is nearly 40 years old.

"So it's basically the most veteran conversation you'll ever have in your life," Curry said.

The addition of Horford means that the Warriors' four most important players are all 35 years old or older. If Hield starts with Butler, Green, Curry and Horford in a game this season, it will be the oldest starting lineup in NBA history. At the start of the new season, the average age of the Warriors is 28.3 years old, ranking second in the league after the Clippers. Under such circumstances, it is very important to retain young strength to stabilize the regular season record and open up the future ceiling.

As the February trade deadline approaches, Curry and Kerr echoed a sentiment first expressed publicly by Green. The trio delivered a unified message that team management and owners need to take a pragmatic approach, stating that it would be unwise to exhaust all future assets for the most realistic chance of promotion.

Green even told Dunleavy and boss Lacob last summer not to approve the Markkanen deal to avoid being "stocked" by Ainge. "I'm a big Markkanen fan," Green said. "But I think if you're going to make a trade of this magnitude, you'd better make sure this is the move. Usually you're not going to get a deal with Ainge. I've looked at the history. "

On the night the Warriors traded for Butler, Curry and Green had an unforgettable conversation in the Jazz's visiting locker room. Dunleavy, who had been teammates with Butler in Chicago, vouched for him and believed in Butler's suitability. He gave him a two-year contract extension with a maximum salary, which only cost a future first-round draft pick, ensuring that the team's future draft assets were not tied up.

Curry called this approach "radical but reasonable." Kerr called it a "commitment to Steph," and he believes the front office and owners have shifted back to win-now mode enough to remain decently competitive in the final chapter of the Curry era.

"When you look back at the whole dual-timeline theory or whatever, I think it's easy to question it," Cole said. "But I think you have to remember the situation. At that time, we didn't make the playoffs two years in a row. So when we drafted all those young players, there was a real concern that our glory days were over. It made perfect sense to use some lottery picks to hit star players. "

Of course, there have been complaints within the Warriors about some of the completed and uncompleted trades over the past five years, most notably Lacob's reluctance to include Kuminga in the trade for Caruso a few seasons ago.

Selecting Wiseman with the second pick in 2020 was a huge mistake. If they wanted to, they could have traded for Edwards with the No. 1 pick. When Kuminga and Moody were drafted in 2021, Wagner and Murphy III were also options. But for Curry, these are all hindsight.

"This whole discussion about maximizing my window can get cliche real fast," Curry said. "I understand what everyone is saying and thinking. But you are making decisions based on the information you have in front of you. If the information changes, your opinion may change. This is basically the norm in the league. What I mean by this is: I want to stay competitive. This does not mean that you are necessarily in the so-called "number one favorite" perfect situation.. But I like where we are right now. "

The arrival of Horford allows Curry to continue to cherish the hope of winning the championship.

"Dunleavy has been looking for players like him during his tenure, " Cole said. "Not just a player who can bounce out after the pick-and-roll, but a true big man who can make Draymond's job easier and make Steph's job easier. It's really hard to find players like that. "

Dunleavy has two tasks on his agenda this summer. One is to solve Kuminga's situation, and the other is to supplement the rest of the lineup with veterans who are best suited to the Curry, Cole, and Green system. Kuminga's The contract dispute was long, winding and messy, but it was ultimately resolved. "I think there's a lot of potential upside to this," though it's not completely settled in the public eye, "so I just have to wait." "

Dunleavy had to call frequently to reassure Horford of the order of the plan, but team sources said that Horford was their "absolute No. 1 target" and no other free agent came close to his priority. The source also said that they also had some interest in Cornet, but the latter signed a contract with the San Antonio Spurs that exceeded their price tag.

In order to get Horford, they gave him A two-year, $11.6 million contract with a player option for the second year and a 15% trade guarantee seals the deal by providing those sweeteners. The second year of the contract is consistent with the contract length of Curry, Butler and Green, setting up the final chapter of the championship for this quartet.

"It's a privilege for me to have this opportunity to be here, " Horford said. "They have accomplished a lot. I do understand that there are a lot of challenges that come with that. But I'm very excited. "