Steve Kerr, Stephen Curry, Warriors
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Head coach Steve Kerr (R) of the Golden State Warriors talks with Stephen Curry #30 during the second half of the NBA game at Mortgage Matchup Center on December 18, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Golden State Warriors are running out of neutral ground.
At 19–18 and sitting eighth in the Western Conference, they are neither rebuilding nor truly contending. They hover. Competitive on some nights, uneven on others. Good enough to stay in the picture, but not stable enough to inspire confidence that the current roster can carry a full playoff run.
That middle ground has become uncomfortable.
With Stephen Curry still playing like one of the five best players in the league, the Warriors no longer have the luxury of patience for its own sake. The future can wait. The present is demanding attention.
That’s why the name Anthony Davis hasn’t disappeared from the conversation.
Why the Warriors Are Approaching a Pivot Point
Golden State’s roster reality is tightening.
The team looks increasingly likely to explore the trade market involving Jonathan Kuminga, who becomes trade-eligible on January 15. That date matters. It opens pathways that simply have not existed yet, and it signals that change is no longer hypothetical.
The Warriors have tried to straddle timelines. Develop young talent. Stay competitive. Preserve flexibility. The result has been a roster that does many things adequately, but nothing decisively.
Meanwhile, Curry continues to operate at an elite level, bending defenses, carrying offensive stretches, and reminding the organization that this window still matters. The longer Golden State delays a meaningful swing, the more uncomfortable that contrast becomes.
This is the context in which Anthony Davis keeps resurfacing.
Why Anthony Davis Keeps Coming Up in Discussions
Golden State Warriors trade rumors, Anthony Davis Warriors trade rumors, Klay Thompson Warriors trade rumors, Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Steve Kerr, Dallas Mavericks trade rumors
GettyAnthony Davis #3 of the Dallas Mavericks warms up prior to the start of the game against the Golden State Warriors at Chase Center on December 25, 2025 in San Francisco, California.
According to The Athletic’s Christian Clark and Sam Amick, the Warriors have discussed a potential Davis deal with the Dallas Mavericks, with team sources indicating the door is not completely closed.
That phrasing is important.
Dallas is listening, but not desperate. Davis remains one of the league’s most impactful two-way bigs when healthy, and the Mavericks are weighing whether moving him accelerates their reset or undercuts it.
From Golden State’s perspective, the appeal is obvious. Davis represents a true ceiling-raising gamble. A defensive anchor. A playoff-caliber frontcourt presence. The kind of move that says the Warriors are no longer content to hover.
This would not be a move for the future.
It would be a move for Curry.
NBACentral
The door is not closed on the Warriors trading for Anthony Davis, per @TheAthletic
A trade would likely have to include Draymond Green or Jimmy Butler, but the Warriors have been against moving them at this point.
“The Golden State Warriors (19-18; eighth in the West) have
The Financial Reality That Still Blocks a Deal
Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Warriors
GettyJimmy Butler of the Golden State Warriors talks with Draymond Green prior to the game against the Chicago Bulls.
And yet, this is where ambition collides with reality.
As Clark and Amick reported, Golden State’s internal stance has effectively stalled any serious progress.
“Yet with the Warriors known to be staunchly against the notion of trading either Draymond Green ($25.8 million this season) or Jimmy Butler ($54.1 million), there is no realistic pathway to finding a deal that works financially.”
That sentence defines the situation.
Any Anthony Davis trade requires real salary. For the Warriors, that means Green or Butler. So far, Golden State has drawn a firm line there.
Kuminga becoming trade-eligible creates optionality. It does not solve the math.
Until the Warriors decide whether they are willing to make a truly uncomfortable decision, the Davis conversation remains theoretical.
Final Word for the Warriors
This is the tension Golden State must resolve.
The Warriors are no longer in a place where standing still is neutral. Middling is a decision. And with Stephen Curry still playing at a championship level, every season spent hovering is a season not fully leveraged.
Anthony Davis represents the kind of swing that could reframe everything. He is risky. He is expensive. And he would force Golden State to confront choices it has avoided.
The door may still be open.
But if the Warriors want to do more than hover, they will eventually have to decide whether they are willing to walk through it — or accept that this version of the roster is the gamble they are choosing instead.