Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images Steph Curry
It’s no secret that NBA superstar Stephen Curry is in one of the worst shooting slumps of his career. While it’s fair to assume that Curry will eventually come out of his slump, there is no indication of when that will happen.
Over his last eight games, Curry has shot just 31.4% from three and 39.5% from the field. His shooting numbers on the season, 37.6% from three and 41.6% from the field, are both career lows. Curry’s struggles have had a direct impact on the Warriors offense.
From the start of the season to the end of November, the Warriors were averaging 113.3 points per game. Since the start of December, they’ve averaged just 102.1 points per game. At the end of November, the Warriors were 18-3, since the start of December the team is 16-10.
Head Coach Steve Kerr spoke two weeks ago about why the offense has been struggling, pointing out that the team has been taking tougher shots according to analytics. According to a story from CBS Sports though, Curry has even been struggling when he’s open. Since December 1 he’s made just 36.7% of his open three-point attempts. That same story poses the question: Will Curry’s extended struggles will change the Warriors trade deadline plans?
Will the Warriors Make a Trade?
Curry’s struggles have been happening for an extended period of time now. Just last week Warriors president and general manager Bob Myers discussed the likelihood of the team making a trade.
“I think less (likely) if I’m being honest,” Myers said. “Doesn’t mean we won’t listen and look at things. But I think the guys in the locker room and coaching staff have kind of earned the right to have some peace of mind.
“I can’t ever say at any deadline that we won’t do anything. I have no idea. We’re still a few weeks away. But they’ve done a good job and they deserve credit for that. So whether that’s the fringe players, whether that’s some of the rookies, whether that’s the veterans and everything in between, everybody’s had moments, really positive moments.”
While Myers did say he’s not 100 percent sure a trade won’t happen, it did sound at the time that the Warriors were leaning towards not making a move. With that said, there are still a couple of things that could sway the team to push for a trade.
Reasons the Warriors Might Make a Move
Some of the recent struggles can be attributed to the absence of Draymond Green, who’s been out since Jan 5 with a lower back injury. Green is supposed to be re-evaluated on Jan 30. While there has been no negative news on Green so far, one thing that could prompt the Warriors to make a move is if they received bad news on Green’s injury status.
The Warriors have missed Green on the defensive end, as well as his leadership. He’s also a key cog in the offense, leading the team with 7.4 assists per game. Green helps take playmaking pressure off of Curry and improves the Warriors spacing. If Green’s absence gets extended much further, then the Warriors could look to make a move to fill that void.
Something else to watch for the Warriors leading up to the Feb 10 trade deadline, is the status and play of Klay Thompson. He’s missed the last two games with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee. In the six games Thompson has played in, he’s averaged 14.7 points per game while shooting 30.2% from three and 37.2% from three.
Klay Thompson (knee soreness) a late scratch for Warriors tonight, per Steve Kerr
After missing the last 30 months, it’s no surprise that Thompson hasn’t returned to his previous form yet. The bigger concern is the knee soreness and whether that will be a problem going forward.
The other thing that could sway the Warriors to make a trade is if they simply get an offer they can’t refuse. This result isn’t likely and we rarely see it at the trade deadline, but you never know.
Curry’s struggles have certainly been concerning, but they’ll likely end sooner rather than later. It’s also unlikely that his struggles alone would cause the Warriors to make a move. While Myers did say last week the team was not likely to move, things can change fast in the NBA.