9 Steph Curry trades for Warriors to say goodbye to their legendary point guard

Trade No. 9: Los Angeles Lakers

Now for the trade that everyone has been buzzing about since LeBron James and Stephen Curry teamed up to win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics.

The Los Angeles Lakers have a pair of stars in LeBron and Anthony Davis who are capable of leading a team to a championship; LeBron is amazingly still that good. Unfortunately, the Lakers haven't been able to put a capable supporting cast around them since they sold off the 2020 championship team for parts.

Wardell Stephen Curry would give them the juice needed to compete with the titans at the top of the Western Conference. That trio of players, all arguably in the Top 10 in the league, would make for incredibly compelling basketball for as long as they all played together.

The Warriors tried to set up this pairing at last year's trade deadline, but James' agent Rich Paul shut talks down. Now that Bronny James is on the Lakers and LeBron has signed a new contract it seems unlikely he would leave Los Angeles, so perhaps Curry could go there.

Here is one construction for a trade:

This one is difficult to work out because of the money; the Lakers need to stack a lot of contracts, but unlike other offers like the Oklahoma City Thunder or Utah Jazz, the players the Lakers are moving don't hold a lot of value in and of themselves. That's why Austin Reaves has to be a part of this deal, in addition to fully unprotected picks in 2029 and 2031, plus an unprotected swap in 2030.

The Lakers would have their triumvirate of stars, and it's hard to build a better-fitting threesome of players. The depth filling in around them is where things get difficult. Moses Moody is required to make the money balance between two expensive teams, and he would likely plug in immediately as a starter on the wing. The other starter could be Max Lewis or Cam Reddish, with players like Gabe Vincent, Dalton Knecht and Christian Wood behind them. That's an insanely thin team, and the Lakers would need to snag a few diamonds in the rough off the remaining free agent pile.

Who Says No? Despite the entire depletion of their depth, the Lakers will make this trade and figure out the depth later. This represents a very real chance at another title if they can find anyone with a pulse to play, and players who hit the buyout market will clamor to join these stars in Los Angeles wearing Lakers jerseys. Chris Paul is one name that comes to mind.

Stephen Curry is likely all-in on this deal as well, teaming up with LeBron once again and staying relatively close to his home in San Francisco. It's the Warriors who are the wild card. Can they get over the thought of handing a championship to the nearby Lakers, and stomach the amount of salary they need to take on? If so, those Lakers picks are some of the very best single assets in play, especially if the Lakers get even older with this trade. By 2029 even LeBron and Curry can't be operating at this level.

It's a phenomenal thought experience and tantalizing proposition for fans of the Lakers and of Curry, but it further illustrates just how painful it will be for Curry to leave the Warriors and wear another jersey. Winning a title wearing purple and gold? That might be the worst future yet.