STATELINE, Nev. — Stephen Curry maintains he didn’t fly to New York from Shanghai so he could pitch Kevin Durant on returning to the Warriors. He wanted to get out there earlier, but his Asia tour with Under Armour prevented it. He hadn’t seen Durant since the No. 1 free agent on the market tore his Achilles and planned all along to pay a visit.



But before the free-agency frenzy started two weeks ago, Curry needed to say something to Durant, face to face. There were things Curry wanted to look him in the eye and convey.



“I knew full well it was decision time, whatever way he was going to go,” Curry said Saturday during a break in the second round of the American Century Golf Championship celebrity tournament, a delay created by a logjam at the par-5 16th hole at Edgewood Tahoe.



“There was no need to pitch. He knows what we’re about and what we accomplished. He just had to make a decision that makes him happy.