Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- A blockbuster trade idea has captured the imagination of many NBA fans this offseason — Steph Curry to the Spurs.
- The proposal centers on pairing Curry with a Victor Wembanyama to form one of the league's most exciting duos.
- But deeper analysis reveals fundamental roster construction issues that make this move unlikely to benefit either franchise.
Stephen Curry has nothing to prove, but at least a little bit more to give. Yet he’s quarantined on an impossibly hopeless Golden State Warriors team with injuries, cap issues and no avenue to contend in the ultra-competitive Western Conference next season … or the season after that … at which point Curry will be 40 years old and oh god what do we do without Steph Curry in the league?
There’s a reason so many great love stories are tragedies. The Warriors and Curry have been joined in holy basketballtrimony for over 15 years, and neither would trade the experience for all the stars in the sky. But we’re now at a point where trading Curry makes sense for both him and the Warriors. But could they actually trade Steph? The scandal! It’s downright Shakespearean out here; but the internet artists of the trade machine think they have the solution.
Should the San Antonio Spurs pursue Stephen Curry?
Send Curry to the San Antonio Spurs. According to HoopsMatic, 8.9 percent of all trades in a 24-hour span included Curry, and over 30 percent of those sent him to the Spurs. And it’s easy to do! De’Aaron Fox, some picks here and there and wham we have the most compelling pairing in the league overnight. Curry and Wemby pick and roll I mean are you kidding me right now?
It’s the kind of trade that is so fun it might actually be too fun — like a college party that got a little too rowdy and the cops showed up from a noise complaint. Curry on the Spurs would obviously be sick but in life (unfortunately) we have to stop and think about the consequences of our actions before we start making irresponsible choices. So let’s take an even-keeled look at how that would play out and decide if we actually want it.
Fox got scapegoated for the Spurs’ ignoble loss in the NBA Finals, mostly because at several junctures Dylan Harper looked like the far better player. But I didn’t necessarily agree that Fox was the problem; for huge chunks of the series (and the Oklahoma City Thunder series too) Fox was the only one who wasn’t afraid to shoot or dribble. Curry also would not be afraid to do either thing, but this still leaves us with the unsolveable issue of having Dylan Harper, a basketball Hercules waiting to go the distance, on the bench. What, is Steph going to be a sixth man?
The trade makes no sense for the Spurs ... or really for the Warriors
The problem — or at least the result … it’s not actually a problem usually — with a Steph-focused attack is it has to be just that: Steph-focused. Curry is such a gravitational force that it’s highly effective, but the Spurs didn’t succeed with that style before and shouldn’t blow up something that only really needed minor tweaks. Victor Wembanyama is the focal point, and physical defenders at every surrounding slot is the win condition. They don’t need Steph.
But he does need them. This trade proposal is mostly about saving Curry not the Spurs, who are pretty well and good without him. I don’t think San Antonio is in the business of making goodwill trades for the benefit of NBA history and fan interest, but hey, Adam Silver could slip them a tax break (can he do that?) or something and make it happen … I don’t know. In any case, this trade is not actually going to happen, so it’s a moot point.
There’s one other quick point I want to make about Curry and the present plight of his poor position: that’s the price of love. The NBA is not Love Island, it’s a ruthless business where owners lay off entire broadcast teams to pinch pennies. Curry and the Warriors have shown unshakable commitment to each other and seen unimaginable success from it. But unless one side decides to cash in on that success in a LeBron-esque move, this is going to end a touch sadly.
And if you asked Golden State fans, do they actually want to trade Steph? I mean, what's the point of milking a tiny bit of value after the most iconic sports person arguably in the history of your city? There are lines you just don't want to cross, and Curry has been everything to them. It's going to be a little bit sad, but I honestly vote to let it happen. “All’s well that ends well” is a load of crap; in sports, nothing ends well, otherwise it wouldn’t end.
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