For years, Stephen Curry has been the guy for the Golden State Warriors. Four NBA Championships, two MVPs, and 11 All-Star appearances. He is the greatest player ever to wear a Warriors jersey. Unfortunately, with the way things have panned out over the last few years, it looks as though the Curry era may be over in Golden State.
The Warriors have desperately tried to give Curry another chance at winning a title. Despite losing Klay Thompson and seeing the Jordan Poole situation flame out, they still landed Jimmy Butler last season. But now, after his ACL tear, recent rumors have indicated that Golden State isn't willing to trade him or Draymond Green, which means they could be handcuffing themselves.
And therefore, Curry may never get the chance to compete for a title again.
Warriors are basically ending the Stephen Curry era themselves
Curry isn’t getting any younger. He knows it, the Warriors know it, and the fanbase knows it, too. In reality, he probably only has a few years left in the NBA, and it’s impressive that he’s still playing at the level he is.
Yet the Warriors just can’t seem to put a top-tier team around him. They tried with Butler, but even before the injury, things didn’t look too good. And none of their young guys are taking a big enough leap to make up for it.
Now, with the latest report that the Warriors are against trading Butler and Green this season, they are left in an eternal state of mediocrity.
There is no reasonable path toward improvement this season. The Jonathan Kuminga situation has been a complete disaster, and at this point, it’s extremely unlikely they get anything significantly valuable back in any trade that moves him out of Golden State.
And outside of him, Butler, and Green, the Warriors don’t have that many big contracts to play with in a potential trade. Unless they plan on moving Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, and/or Moses Moody, they are stuck.
Even if they do move those three guys, they probably wouldn’t be able to get any serious value back in return. Their most valuable trade assets are their picks, and unless they attach them to Butler or Green’s contract, they aren’t that valuable.
By stating their unwillingness to trade Butler or Green this season, the Warriors are effectively throwing in the towel on this season and committing to running it back next year.
And based on the way things went to start this season, it’s hard to imagine they will do much better when their entire core is a year older, and Butler is coming off an ACL tear.
So, with all of that in mind, the Curry era in Golden State is all but over.