The Inescapable Dilemma: Is Stephen Curry, at 37, the Warriors’ Best Asset or Greatest Handicap?
The reality facing the Golden State Warriors is a paradox: their single greatest championship asset is also their biggest obstacle to rebuilding the team.
Stephen Curry, 37, remains one of the NBA’s most potent offensive players, but as Chandler Parsons starkly notes, “their best asset is a 37-year-old Steph Curry? That is not a good sign for an organization”.
The devastating season-ending ACL injury to All star forward Jimmy Butler has forced a harsh spotlight onto this dilemma. It leaves Curry still performing at an elite level on a team whose title hopes have evaporated forward.
The Uncomfortable Logic of a “Win Now” Trade
The core of Parsons’ argument is a cold assessment of value in a league that increasingly favors youth. Curry is still an All-NBA caliber player, but he is also a 37-year-old veteran owed $62.5 million next season.
Trading him would not be about dumping a bad player; it would be a strategic gamble to acquire a package of younger players and draft picks that could accelerate a necessary rebuild.
This type of move is often called “accelerating a rebuild.” As former Warrior DeMarcus Cousins argues, acquiring young talent and picks could give the franchise a much-needed foundation and direction it currently lacks.
The Blockbuster Proposal: Curry to San Antonio
On his show “Run It Back,” Parsons and host Michelle Beadle floated a specific, blockbuster trade scenario that illustrates the potential and difficulty of such a move.
| Team | Proposed Trade Idea | Logic & Potential Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Golden State Warriors | Trade Stephen Curry | Acquire De’Aaron Fox, Kelly Olynyk, and a young asset (Jeremy Sochan or Keldon Johnson). |
| San Antonio Spurs | Trade De’Aaron Fox, Kelly Olynyk, and a young asset | Acquire Stephen Curry to pair with Victor Wembanyama. |
For San Antonio, pairing Curry’s historic shooting and gravity with Wembanyama’s two-way dominance could immediately vault the Spurs, who are already second in the West, into title favoritism.
The Overwhelming Case to Stay
- Curry Is the Franchise’s Identity: He is not just a player; he is synonymous with the Warriors’ decade of success. Trading him would be a culturally seismic event, signaling a complete tear-down that the organization has shown no appetite for.
- He Remains Elite: Analytics site Dunks and Threes ranks Curry as the second-most productive offensive player and seventh-most productive player overall in the NBA this season. The idea is not to trade a declining star, but to trade a superstar who is still at the top of his game.
- The “Build Around Him” Path: The alternative path is to use other assets like disgruntled forward Jonathan Kuminga, young players Brandon Podziemski, and draft capital in multi-team deals to acquire another star to pair with Curry.
The Starker Alternative: A Curry Led Trade Request
A more plausible, though still unlikely, scenario comes from veteran NBA writer Henry Abbott. He suggests the decision may ultimately rest with Curry himself
If Curry, seeing the post-Butler landscape, were to request a trade to a contender, the Warriors’ hand would be forced. In that case, the return could be significant.
Abbott references a 2023 hypothetical where Curry could have netted a package built around a young star like Tyrese Maxey. The calculus changes when the player drives the move.
The Verdict: Status Quo, For Now
The Warriors are trapped between a rock and a hard place, a situation underscored by Butler’s injury. Trading Curry is the most direct path to a quick rebuild but is anathema to the franchise’s soul.
Standing pat wastes the twilight of an all-time great. Making smaller trades around the edges may be too little, too late.
