Since winning the 2022 championship, the Warriors have been trying to build a championship-contending team that doesn’t waste Stephen Curry’s final years. However, their plans have repeatedly failed, and the Warriors have had disappointing seasons despite Curry’s continued stardom. The same thing has happened this season.
Sharing with Yahoo’s Vincent Goodwill, Draymond Green said: “The great thing is that Steve Kerr, Steph Curry and I are not willing to trade the future of the club for short-term goals. It will weaken the team for a long time and we do not want that.”
Curry also agreed with Green’s statement, saying that the Warriors should not make “panic transfers or desperate moves that undermine the future of the club.”
“We have a responsibility to keep the team in a good position, that’s part of our legacy at the end of our careers,” Curry said.
Curry and Green’s concern for the team’s foundation and future is admirable. But keeping this roster intact ultimately isn’t good for them, the fans, the team, or the future.
No one wants to see the Warriors and Curry finish the season without making the playoffs. But if nothing changes, it could happen.
Curry would never ask to leave — he wants to play his entire career with the Warriors. But letting him go is the best option for all parties. Curry gets to move to a more competitive team, while the Warriors get a lot of assets to rebuild quickly.
Stephen Curry’s Potential Destinations If He Leaves Golden State Warriors
The Warriors have the resources to make a blockbuster trade right away. Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, two first-round picks, and a random bench player or two would help the Chase Center team bring back a disgraced star like Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine, Brandon Ingram, or any other good player.
However, the media claims that the Warriors are not interested in such a trade. Instead, they have experimented with smaller upgrades like Dennis Schroder and possibly Nikola Vucevic. The Warriors want to create a competitive roster, but they don’t want to lose the club’s brightest talent. These two streams of thought are contradictory and have led the Warriors astray.
If the club isn’t willing to go all-in for Curry’s final few peak years, they should consider letting him go. However, Curry is the highest-paid player in the NBA, so top teams like the Boston Celtics, Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Timberwolves won’t have the salary cap and resources to make a deal happen. The Warriors will have to look to ambitious, but lower-level teams. The Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, and Orlando Magic are the most potential options. They have a lot of bright talent, a lot of NBA Draft picks, and a large salary cap to bring Curry in. All three teams have young, hungry squads but lack experience and character. Curry’s presence would immediately make them championship contenders.
Except for the three names above, the two top NBA teams that can afford to bring Curry are the OKC Thunder and Cleveland Cavaliers. Thunder has a bunch of bright young talent and 9 first round picks in hand. Thunder can lose 4-5 first round picks along with talents like Lu Dort, Isaiah Hartenstein and a few other players to bring Curry. This amount of assets is enough for the Warriors to rebuild. Meanwhile, with Curry, OKC Thunder will immediately be the top candidate for the championship.
Meanwhile, the Cavaliers could potentially trade Darius Garland to the Chase Center as part of a Curry trade. The Cavaliers could also sell Caris LeVert and his draft picks to a rival. The Chef would instantly bring the kind of grit and playoff experience the Cavaliers have been lacking in their fledgling team. It would be interesting to see Curry wear the jersey of the rival he has played against for most of his career.
These are the possible scenarios if the Warriors decide to trade Curry. However, this is very unlikely because both sides want to stick with each other throughout their careers.
Kobe Bryant had a disappointing final season with the Los Angeles Lakers. However, he chose to stay and retire here instead of moving to another team to seek more glory. With Curry’s love for the Warriors, it is likely that he will follow the Lakers’ legend.
