The Golden State Warriors have always wanted to do right by their franchise legend, the best player in team history, the one and only Wardell Stephen Curry II. That is why they traded for Jimmy Butler last season -- to try and help Steph Curry win another championship. When Butler went down this week with a torn ACL, that dream was seemingly snuffed out.
Perhaps the Warriors could swing for the fences with a wild trade that gives them a shot at competing for a title. Names such as LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Anthony Davis are compelling. Would they truly give the Warriors a shot at another title? When you have No. 30 on your team, anything is possible, but the odds are obviously low.
Mike Dunleavy Jr. and Steve Kerr have both made comments in recent weeks that illustrate where they think this dynasty is: dead. The last embers have been snuffed out by the injury to Butler. For all that Curry has meant to the franchise, there is no meaningful path to putting a championship roster around him.
That doesn't mean, however, that the franchise can no longer help Curry win a championship.
Steph Curry is inextricably linked to the Golden State Warriors. He has been to six NBA Finals and won four championships for the franchise. He is the team's all-time leader in games, shots, baskets, assists, points and, obviously, 3-pointers. He will have a statue to his greatness outside the arena as soon as he retires.
If the goal were truly to bring Curry another championship, however, there is one way to do it: trade Steph Curry to a contending team.
The Warriors could trade Stephen Curry
Uttering the idea at all seems like blasphemy, a slap in the face to Curry and what he has built in Golden State. Such an idea would obviously not be done without his complete buy-in. But many of the best players in the history of the league played the vast majority of their career with one franchise but then joined another for a final run at the end.
Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are the embodiment of the Chicago Bulls, but Jordan played two seasons at the end for the Washington Wizards. Pippen joined the Expendables in Portland for another run. Karl Malone joined the Los Angeles Lakers at the very end to try and win a title (he almost did, making it to the NBA Finals). Patrick Ewing spent 15 years on the New York Knicks but then a year each in Seattle and Orlando.
Hakeem Olajuwon played one season for the Toronto Raptors after a Hall of Fame career with the Houston Rockets. He is perhaps the best comp for what this could look like for Steph: a long, productive, title-winning career for one team, and then at the end a little change of scenery to compete for another title. That is a far cry from the mercenary dealings of LeBron James, Kevin Durant or Shaquille O'Neal. Curry would remain a Warrior only in the eyes of history.
Curry may not want to entertain the idea. The Warriors front office may not actually want to prioritize Curry's good above all else. Joe Lacob may not want to lose the money that Curry prints for the franchise.
If the goal is to help Curry win a title at all costs, however, and if the Warriors don't want to completely mortgage their future in pursuit of it, then the answer is clear: trade Stephen Curry. Send him somewhere he can make another run or two, and bring back assets to build the next great Warriors team.
It's a painful idea, a scandalous one, but maybe -- just maybe -- it's the best one for everyone involved. If they are brave enough to bring it up.