Getty Warriors star Stephen Curry
Last season, three of the Warriors’ Top 8 scorers were 21 years old or younger: Brandin Podziemski, Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody. The team’s No. 4 rebounder, Trayce Jackson-Davis, was 23. For a team that was good but far from great, the logical thing to do this summer was to move off of the pair of aging free-agent guards (Chris Paul and Klay Thompson) and being to work in more opportunities for the young guys who comported themselves so well in 2023-24.
And the next logical thing to do would be to take the team’s 36-year-old scoring leader and put him up on the trade market, too, seeking to bring in young assets and draft picks, with an eye on sending the franchise into a quick and fruitful rebuilding phase.
Ah, but when that 36-year-old is one Stephen Curry, well, that’s another story.
In an article titled, “Where do the Warriors go from here?” at The Athletic, former Grizzlies executive John Hollinger wrote that, on one hand, trading Curry is simply the next logical step for the Dubs. But he also added that, all things considered, it’s not gonna happen—and is, in fact, “unthinkable.”
Stephen Curry a Logical Trade Candidate, But …
From Hollinger’s perspective, the Warriors are lined up to finish next season just about where they were last year, with 46 or so wins, in the lower portion of the Western Conference postseason tussle and certainly out of the postseason mix by early May at the latest.
That’s the kind of NBA purgatory a monied franchise like the Warrior should avoid. But the only way to avoid that is to deal Curry and, the fact is, Curry will not get traded unless he goes to the Warriors front office and requests it. Even then, the Dubs might well say no.
“The hardest part is Golden State is no longer good enough to contend but not quite bad enough for conscience-free tanking. Additionally, the Warriors’ best player is arguably the biggest needle-mover of the last decade for fans and TV,” Hollinger wrote.
“If you’re playing Football Manager with this roster, trading Curry for a giant heap of assets and starting over is the no-brainer move. If you’re running a team in real life, it’s unthinkable.”
Warriors Can Compete in the Western Conference
The Warriors can, at least, go into the 2024-25 season with some measure of hope, largely based on the fact that they still have one of the league’s true elites on the roster in Curry. He averaged 26.4 points and was an All-Star for the 10th season last year, making 40.8% of his 3s and suiting up for 74 games.
There’s hope they can improve on the 46 wins, and it helps to remember that they were only four wins behind the eventual West champion Mavericks last year. While Dallas, Oklahoma City and Minnesota all got better this offseason, teams like Denver, the Clippers and Lakers either got worse or stood still. There’s an opportunity to move up in the West.
Following the jettisoning of both Thompson and Paul and the addition of veterans De’Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield and Kyle Anderson, the Warriors are a deeper and more athletic team. They need a consistent No. 2 weapon, and the hope is that Kuminga can grow into that role.
Maybe a tear-down and rebuild is the logical choice. But consigning the Warriors to the West’s play-in neighborhood may be premature.
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Warriors Potential Trade of Stephen Curry ‘Unthinkable’: Ex-NBA Exec