Warriors vs. Pelicans, Las Vegas Summer League 2015: Golden State faces Seth Curry, who might be playing his way into a contract

Seth Curry might finally get his big chance in the NBA and, in a strange twist, his connections to the Golden State Warriors might end up playing a rather significant role after all.

After fully cutting ties with the Warriors organization before last season when the Santa Cruz Warriors traded him to the Erie BayHawks, Curry is playing for the New Orleans Pelicans summer league squad and has averaged a summer league high 25.3 points per game and that's while shooting under 20% from the 3-point line — he's actually shown that he can be a bit more than the spot-up shooter that he's reputed to be.

That Pelicans summer league team is coached by former Golden State Warriors assistant coach Darren Erman — putting aside all the drama surround Erman's departure from Golden State (and Mark Jackson's eventual departure), Erman was the guy who led the Warriors to the Las Vegas Summer League championship in 2013 and used to have personal film studies with Seth's older brother Stephen Curry, who you might have heard of once or twice.

And the combination of Seth Curry's production this summer along with Erman's familiarity with his game and work ethic from their time with the Warriors organization might translate into a guaranteed contract for the younger Curry this season, according to a report from Milwaukee Bucks writer Gary Woelfel (who was also a bit ahead of the game on the Monty Williams firing) that was confirmed by John Reid of the Times-Picayune.

...league sources say there have been discussions but nothing is finalized or is for certain yet. But the Pelicans have been impressed with Curry's production in Alvin Gentry's up-tempo's offense.

This would be quite the breakthrough for Curry, who has been a fringe player for the entirety of his career while living in the shadow of his more famous older brother and questions about how well his game translates to NBA success as reported by Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.

“What actually hurts him is probably the thought that he is what he is,” one scout told Sporting News. “So you get guys who are projects and might eventually become something but probably are never going to be much in this league who are taking up roster spots. Seth Curry probably is not going to get a lot better in other areas. But a guy who has an obvious skill like this guy, really a very good shooter, can’t get a spot because everyone’s talking about what he can’t do. Look at the BS guys who are in this league, athletes who can’t play basketball."

Yet the fact that Erman is reportedly such a big fan of Curry can only help him grab that guaranteed contract as fellow Warriors assistant Alvin Gentry inevitably looks for shooters to surround budding superstar Anthony Davis with.

While rumors of finally getting a guaranteed contract grow louder, Curry will face the organization that first gave him a chance and might always end up having a mark on his career when the Pelicans face the Warriors tonight at 7 p.m. in the Las Vegas Summer League quarterfinals tonight. While continuing to win can only help Curry's case for a guaranteed contract, the game offers Warriors fans another glimpse at 2015 first round pick Kevon Looney who has looked increasingly confident by the game thus far in the summer. Right now, the one thing that really has me rooting for the Warriors' summer league run to continue at all is the chance that Looney might continue to show that he's even more of a steal than most of us thought.

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Who: Golden State Warriors vs. New Orleans Pelicans

What: Las Vegas NBA Summer League tournament quarterfinals

When: 7 p.m. PST

Where: Thomas & Mack Center, UNLV — Las Vegas, Nevada

How to watch:

• National TV: NBA TV
• Live stream: Summer League Live