If Warriors owner Joe Lacob decides not to bring back Keith Smart as coach, Smart's relationship with Stephen Curry will be somewhere near the top of the list of reasons why.

There is no feud, no profanity-laced shouting matches or even any dislike, really. There's not even really a "problem."

But something's amiss between the two.  To say Smart has had Curry on a shorter leash than Don Nelson did a year ago would be an understatement.

Curry's minutes per game have decreased this season compared to the minutes he got under Don Nelson.  And the number of games that Curry has played over 40 minutes per game is less than a third this season as compared to last.

There's no doubt Smart isn't treating Curry like an elite guard. And anyone who's been watching the games can see Curry's body language, and not just when he comes out of games. Curry doesn't have the bounce he had last year, the pep ... the smile.