The Golden State Warriors have spent the past two offseasons searching for one more superstar to extend Stephen Curry‘s championship window.
They came up empty each time.
That reality led veteran NBA analyst Zach Lowe to explore an uncomfortable question: What if the Warriors eventually decide that their best path forward is to trade Curry rather than ask him to spend his remaining seasons on a team no longer positioned to compete for championships?
On The Zach Lowe Show, Lowe floated a blockbuster scenario that would send Curry to the Houston Rockets, reuniting him with former Warriors teammate Kevin Durant for one final title run.
Lowe repeatedly stressed the proposal was purely hypothetical. But if Golden State ever reached the point of pivoting toward a full rebuild, he believes Houston possesses one of the league’s strongest collections of trade assets.
“Houston is on my list,” Lowe said. “Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard and some sort of draft assets. The Rockets would surely balk at it, including anything other than the players I mentioned, any draft assets at all.”
Even then, Lowe admitted that package would not be enough.
“No, remember this is Steph Curry,” Lowe said. “If I’m trading him and if you’re the Warriors, you’re gonna have to bowl me over.”
The appeal of the proposal extended beyond Houston’s assets.
“Reunite Steph and KD in Houston when KD wouldn’t go to reunite with him in the Warriors,” Lowe said. “I think that’s actually interesting. I think that’s legit interesting.”
Lowe added that including All-Star center Alperen Sengun would likely be “a bridge too far” for the Rockets before reminding listeners the entire exercise was “pie in the sky.
Warriors’ Offseason Misses Give Lowe’s Hypothetical More Weight
GettyStephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors are entering next season with the same predicament: same roster that failed to make the playoffs with health concerns among key players.
Lowe’s thought experiment did not emerge in a vacuum.
The Warriors spent another offseason searching for the star who could maximize what remains of Curry’s championship window. Golden State pursued LeBron James over the past two years, explored potential paths to Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard, and also showed interest in Jaylen Brown before deciding Boston’s asking price was too steep.
Brown instead landed in Philadelphia, where he joined Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. Weeks later, LeBron chose the 76ers, giving Philadelphia the superstar partnership Golden State had unsuccessfully tried to assemble around Curry.
The Warriors now appear positioned to bring back much of the same roster that finished 10th in the Western Conference before its season ended in the Play-In Tournament.
There were legitimate reasons that group never reached its ceiling.
Curry missed 39 games during the 2025-26 season, including 27 consecutive contests because of patellofemoral pain syndrome, commonly known as runner’s knee. Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody both missed Golden State’s Play-In elimination game with knee injuries, while Al Horford and Kristaps PorziÅÄ£is struggled to remain consistently available throughout the season.
Jimmy Butler, Moses Moody Expected to Miss Big Chunk of Next Season
Those injury concerns have not disappeared.
Butler and Moody are not expected to be available when the 2026-27 season opens as they continue recovering from their respective knee injuries, meaning the Warriors could once again begin a season without two key rotation pieces.
The roster Golden State envisioned has rarely shared the floor together.
Even if improved health helps the Warriors rebound, Lowe’s broader question remains. If another franchise-changing star never arrives, should Golden State continue riding with Curry and hope one more title run materializes? Or, difficult as it would be, should the organization eventually consider trading the greatest player in franchise history for the foundational pieces needed to accelerate the post-Curry era?
Curry-Durant Reunion Would Create Intriguing Dynamic
Former NBA video coordinator Mo Dakhil expanded on Lowe’s proposal by suggesting his own version of a Curry trade would begin with Sengun, though he acknowledged Houston would likely reject that framework.
“I actuallyâthat’s along the lines of what I had, with Sengun being the centerpiece, and I don’t think Houston would do it,” Dakhil said.
Dakhil also believes a Curry-Durant reunion would carry a much different dynamic than previous speculation about Durant returning to Golden State.
“I think KD not wanting to go to Golden State is different than Steph Curry coming to KD,” Dakhil said. “I think that’s something where KD would be more open to that concept and that idea of having Steph on his team.”
Houston would almost certainly refuse to include Amen Thompson, whom the Rockets view as one of their untouchable young cornerstones. Likewise, Golden State would have little reason to move Curry without receiving a franchise-altering return.
For now, Lowe’s proposal remains exactly what he intended it to be: an offseason thought experiment rather than a prediction.
Curry has repeatedly expressed his desire to finish his career with the Warriors, and there is no indication the organization is preparing to move on from its four-time NBA champion.
Still, after Golden State struck out on LeBron, Davis, Leonard and Brown while watching Philadelphia land both Brown and LeBron, Lowe’s hypothetical resonates more than the average mock trade.
The proposed Curry-Durant reunion may grab the headlines, but the real debate centers on Golden State’s future: How long should the Warriors keep chasing one last championship with Curry before they have to begin preparing for life after him?
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