The Warriors are mediocre, boring, and Steph Curry is practically waving the white flag this season.
“It’s a responsibility to keep the franchise in a good place and in a good place in terms of where we leave this thing when we’re done,” Curry told reporters after the Warriors lost to the Raptors on Monday. “No one wants to be boring or find themselves in a situation where you miss opportunities. But that doesn’t mean you’re desperate, it just means you’re just throwing things around.”
Once again, this feels like Tom Brady’s final season in New England. In 2020, the Patriots were headed to hell, the roster was aging, and it was clear the franchise was gearing up for a retooling phase. Seeing the writing on the wall, Brady headed to Tampa Bay and won his seventh ring, cementing his legacy as the undisputed NFL GOAT. Now Steph faces a similar crossroads: Will he ride along in Golden State, no matter how bleak things get? Or does he pull a Brady and chase rings elsewhere?
Unlike Brady, Curry can’t enter via free agency: He’s signed for a total of $122.21 million through 2026-27 after signing an extension last offseason. So if Steph wanted out, he would have to request a trade. Curry is eligible to be traded this offseason, though Golden State’s situation should have more clarity this summer. By June, he’ll know where the Warriors land in the draft and if there’s a superstar trade worth pursuing. But actions speak louder than words, and everything Golden State has done thus far screams that they are not in serious contention at this point.
A year ago, the Warriors passed on Pascal Siakam. Last season, they didn’t push all their chips to center for Paul George, Lauri Markkanen or Zach LaVine. Now it appears they don’t believe Jimmy Butler – or anyone else available – will move the needle at the expense of significant future credit assets. With George struggling in Philadelphia and Markkanen dealing with old issues in Utah, a deal may not have had enough leverage to get this team back into contention. But when Curry is still a top 10 player and Draymond Green is still an all-world defenseman, their annual inaction in pursuing stars suggests that cost cutting and long-term planning, not winning, is the organization’s priority.
The state of the franchise is dark. The team’s efforts are uninspiring. The arena feels lifeless. This isn’t the fun-loving, chaotic Warriors team that revolutionized basketball. That energy is gone, replaced by a nap from a team playing a style the league created. And for a group so focused on the future, the dual-timeline experiment backfired spectacularly. James Wiseman on LaMelo Bell. Jonathan Kuminga about Franz Wagner. Moses Moody about Alperen Şengün. Three lottery picks, no clear successors.
“We want to be in that position where we want to be relevant in a championship-type chase,” Curry said Monday after the team fell below .500 at 19-20. ‘But that doesn’t mean we become desperate. It’s better to have a little patience and understand what that looks like.
Normally, stars push their franchises to burn every future pick for players who help in the present. LeBron James did that for ten years. And for a moment, it looked like Curry would. These comments on Monday contrasted with his criticism of the two-timeline plan just a week earlier, when he said the autopsy on it would be “not great” and “I just want to win.” So Steph took a different tone, but after Draymond did so publicly.
“Steve Kerr, Steph Curry and myself all disagree with mortgaging the future of this organization and say we’re going for it now,” Green told Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “Bad teams do that. Bad organizations do that.”
Green’s comments made waves across the NBA world on Monday. Later that same day, during a team shootaround, Kerr told reporters: “We’re not giving in. But you have to be organizationally realistic about where you stand. And you have to take into account what will happen in the future. I probably won’t be there, but I can tell you that if this organization gave away the next six or seven drafts for a wild swing, that would be the most irresponsible thing they could do.”
It’s certainly strange that three of the NBA’s biggest competitors would simply give up on this season. The messages resemble a kind of coordinated PR campaign about conscious action. Maybe it’s leverage in an attempt to get Butler or someone else without mortgaging a single draft pick. Or perhaps the team is preparing for a refueling with Steph dealing with persistent knee pain and Green dealing with a back problem. Or maybe it’s just the cold reality: the run is over, this team isn’t built for an all-in run anymore.
For all the issues with the team’s struggling youth, lack of depth and Kerr’s rusty system, the front office would likely be more willing to make a win-now move if Curry was still at the MVP level played. But he isn’t. Curry is averaging 22.7 points on 16.8 shots, both career lows since the first three seasons of his career. Steph’s scoring efficiency has also dropped as he no longer gets to the basket as often. He placed just 12.6% of his attempts in the restricted area, far less than 25% in his peak years. And while he remains a devastating outside shooter, three-point shooting habits have caught up across the league. It’s hard to justify a big trade when your best player is either slowed by a knee problem or is simply showing the natural signs of aging at age 36.
Still, Curry remains a great player with an unparalleled perimeter game that distorts defenses, and his gold medal performance at the Olympics showcased his nuclear shot-making abilities. He can still play at the highest level. So if a trade can’t be made now or this summer, it’s certainly possible that this could be Steph’s last dance with the only franchise he’s ever known.
It’s a special honor to be a one-team guy, like Kobe Bryant or Dirk Nowitzki. Kobe Bryant gave us the iconic 60-point finale, but the Lakers averaged 30 wins over the last five seasons of his career. Dirk Nowitzki was Luka Dončić’s mentor, but worked for the lottery-bound Mavericks teams. But there’s a big difference between Steph and those legends: At 36 years old, Steph is playing basketball at a much higher level. He can still contribute to a championship-level team. He’s more like Brady: a player who can elevate the right team to title contender status.
When Steph enters the trading market, the possibilities are endless. Imagine pairing him with Nikola Jokić in Denver, flanking Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio, or boosting the Magic, Rockets or Timberwolves. Any of these would give him a better chance of winning a fifth or sixth ring than the Warriors realistically could.
“It would mean the world,” Steph told Anscape in 2023 when asked about winning a fifth championship. “And you obviously understand every championship you get, you put yourself in another echelon of legends who have won at the highest level. Clearly, Bill Russell, no one is going to catch that (11 rings). But to make sure Jordan won six and Kobe won five, it was the Spurs’ Tim Duncan. So all that stuff is about the inherent legacy that you continue to create.
Brady’s decision to leave the Patriots is strong evidence that a lifer is overrated. Growing up in Northern California, Brady idolized Joe Montana growing up and saw him leave the 49ers for the Chiefs late in his career; Montana made the playoffs in two seasons in Kansas City, but the team fell short. So Brady knew the risk of leaving the comfort of home. And he discovered the positive side. Winning his seventh ring in Tampa Bay only cemented his legacy in New England, even if it wasn’t in a Pats jersey. It became the ultimate confirmation of his greatness and proved that he could win anywhere and with anyone.
Curry built his life in the Bay Area. The challenges of uprooting his family have to be part of the equation. But his legacy on the field is intact. If Steph were to leave Golden State, he would always be revered as a franchise legend. The statue is still being built. The retired jersey number will still hang in the rafters. Steph still has room to climb the all-time rankings, and at this point only rings can move him forward.
One of the biggest sacrifices of Steph’s career was allowing Kevin Durant to join the Warriors. Curry could have refused to give up some of the spotlight. Instead, he chose to share it. KD helped him win two more rings, but ultimately took both Finals MVPs. And Steph’s grades took a dip during those years. But that choice was for the betterment of the franchise.
A departure could also benefit Golden State. After all, as Steph himself said, it’s a responsibility to keep the franchise in a good place when it’s done. So what’s better for the Warriors: stick around .500 for the foreseeable future or trade Steph for a while before he declines and then rebuilds? It is very clear the latter. Especially with the 2025 and 2026 concepts, headlined by generational talents like Cooper Flagg and AJ Dybantsa. Flagg’s versatile upside or Dybantsa’s all-round talent would define a rebuild better than clinging to the past.
Maybe the Warriors will get lucky with a top pick in the next two drafts. Perhaps a suitable star will become available. Maybe Steph’s Brady plan involves sticking around long enough for the team to reload for more runs.
But right now the championship window is closed. And this season is over, so Curry has six months to consider which door he walks through: the one that keeps him where it all began, or the one that challenges him to pursue something even greater.
