The Warriors are unlikely to ever trade Stephen Curry, their franchise star of 17 years, but one NBA insider has urged them to hit the reset button.
Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor is convinced that Golden State is better off trading Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins, and initiating the process of rebuilding the franchise around its young core of Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
O’Connor proposed three hypothetical trades while following the blueprint of the 2012-13 Celtics, who traded Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett for a chest of draft picks.
The first trade would see Curry going to the Magic, one of the fastest-rising teams in the NBA who could be just a piece away from title contention.
Magic would receive: Stephen Curry
Warriors would receive: Anthony Black, Jonathan Isaac, Cole Anthony, four first-round picks and two pick swaps
O’Connor felt the trade would benefit the Warriors enormously.
“The Warriors would get Orlando’s whole future, basically with the rights to six firsts, plus Black, who has shown promise as a recent lottery pick,” he wrote. “With that said, the Magic are a fair bet to sustain success so there’d be risk in accepting their picks given how young the core is even if Curry were to rapidly decline.”
Stephen Curry to his Hometown Franchise
A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Curry once said that the Hornets were the only team he’d consider playing for, besides the Warriors.
“I’ve always said I wanted to finish my career at Golden State because of how much it means and the experiences and teammates and the journey we’ve been,” Curry said after receiving the key to the city of Charlotte in Septemebr 2022.
“Everybody asks me, ‘You wanna play one year for the Hornets and come back?’ I am not breaking any news right now, I’m not making any promises. All I would say is if there was a team that I did want to play for that was not named the Warriors, that [the Hornets] would be it.”
As such, O’Connor proposed a trade sending Curry to the Hornets.
Hornets would receive: Curry, Kevon Looney and Lindy Waters
Warriors would receive: Miles Bridges, Grant Williams, Josh Green, four first-round picks and two pick swaps
Best Shot at Fifth NBA Title?
The third and final trade would see Curry and Green going to the Rockets, perhaps giving the veteran pair their best shot at securing a fifth NBA championship.
The Ime Udoka-led team lead had a record of 28-14 — the second seed in the Western Conference — as of January 22. Surely, Curry and Green’s addition to such a team could spell trouble for the rest of the league.
For the Warriors, the trade would be built around a package of two prospective stars, besides a chest of draft assets.
Rockets would receive: Curry, Draymond Green, Buddy Hield, Lindy Waters
Warriors would receive: Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, Fred VanVleet, Steven Adams, Jae’Sean Tate, four unprotected first-round picks, two pick swaps
O’Connor believes his proposed trade would set up the Warriors for the next decade or so.
“This deal would be a no-brainer for the Warriors, in my opinion,” he wrote. “Even taking less would be quite acceptable. They’d clear the books for this summer, immediately get under the luxury tax, gain two promising young players and have a bunch of picks from different organizations.”
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