When Brad Stevens pulled the trigger on the confusing Jaylen Brown trade that returned Paul George, two first round picks, and two second round picks, he sold “optionality” as the main selling point. Having a contract that expired, plus two potentially premium first-round picks, gave the Boston Celtics a chance to quickly flip those assets into something more meaningful moving forward.
That opportunity might present itself sooner rather than later.
There is buzz about Steph Curry growing in online circles after The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson suggested Curry and the Warriors might not exactly be aligned anymore. On a podcast for KNBR, Thompson suggested Curry is “probably a little tired of the star-chasing” by the Warriors, and that Curry might prefer to be part of the bridge to the next generation of Warriors.
Similarly, Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard said on his podcast that Warriors owner Joe Lacob “wants to build the next team after Steph Curry … Lacob has a very keen interest in ‘I’m going to show, this organization is going to show, what it can do with Steph Curry and then after Steph Curry.’”
Neither story suggests Curry wants out of Golden State or that there's any interest in the team to move him. But what those reports show is the potential for a crack in the foundation of the Curry-era Warriors. For the first time, we’re hearing that Curry might not be thrilled with the team’s direction, and that ownership is looking past the final few years of his career.
Emotionally, fans want to believe in the possibility of a player only playing for one franchise, and Curry represents a rare chance for that to happen. A nostalgic view of this situation probably pulls fans in every market to root for him just staying in The Bay and retiring with his original team.
At the same time, reality dictates that valuable assets at a time of change be cashed in for valuable commodities to move the franchise forward. Curry still has value, and if the Warriors aren’t going to use it, some other team might as well get the last squeeze of juice out of Curry’s legendary career.
Emotions are fine, but the NBA is an unrelenting beast. Missing a chance to cash out a lottery ticket like him can set a franchise back for years.
Who knows how it goes from here. Curry, who is 38 and on an expiring $62.6 million contract, could simply decide he’s had his fun, stick around for a few seasons as the team re-tools, and retire whenever golf starts feeling more important to him.
He could get curious about life around the NBA and decide to go sightseeing. He could play out his contract in Golden State, and then start signing short-term deals to see what life is like elsewhere. Maybe he goes home to Charlotte, where he grew up, to fulfill a childhood fantasy. Maybe he will go to San Antonio to see what playing with Victor Wembanyama is like. It could be a backpacking tour of the league just to have some fun for a few years before quitting.
Or maybe he could look at LeBron James and say he wants to chase one more ring, too. He could even sell it as helping the Warriors more than he could on the floor by asking for a trade, getting the Dubs some premium assets, and accelerating their rebuild.
Could the Celtics get in on that?
The first thing to consider is that we don’t know what Curry’s market will be. We saw Jaylen Brown go for less than expected, and at Curry’s age, who knows how the bidding would go. He’s still incredibly effective, but the injuries tend to pile up for guys his age, especially ones who run as much as he does.
I’ll come up with a package. It might be great. It might suck. But it’s what Boston can do right now, and where it lands on that spectrum depends on what others are offering.
My trade package is going to be George, the picks acquired from Philadelphia, and Sam Hauser for Curry.
The picks are valuable for a team resetting itself. I think Boston might try to get away with keeping one, maybe giving up one of their own and so they can keep the 2031 unprotected Sixers pick. But ultimately I’m cool with giving up both. The 2028 pick, as convoluted as it is, is valuable, and getting two potentially high lottery picks in exchange for the final few years of Curry is a really good return. George is in it for salary matching and Hauser’s inclusion helps give them someone currently valuable so they're not tanking TOO hard in this new lottery reform era. Also, including Hauser allows Boston to stay under the tax.
Two things have to happen for this trade to work. They’d have to wait until September 6 to make the trade because Paul George’s salary can’t be aggregated with anyone else's for 60 days. And they’d have to be pretty confident that Baylor Scheierman, Hugo Gonzalez, or Jordan Walsh … and most likely two of the three … would be ready to fill a major role on the wing.
George isn’t expected to play much, but he should produce some decent numbers when he does. Curry obviously makes up for that production and more, but one of those three young Celtics would have to make up for the Hauser production somehow.
I’m not entirely confident in Curry being traded this season. It would be a bit of a shocking development if he did. There's no doubt Brad Stevens has already been on the phone with the Warriors brass to pitch a deal if they want one.
I think the current CBA demands cold-hearted decision making, and trading Curry would be as cold as it gets. It would also be smart to get some assets for him while they can. Boston has some, and a path to making a decent deal for both sides.
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