The rationale behind speculation about a Stephen Curry trade to Boston is perfectly sound. The Warriors completely struck out this offseason, leaving Steph with a roster that has no chance to compete even though he’s still playing at an NBA level. At age 38 and entering the final year of his contract, the time for Golden State to move on and start a true rebuild should be now.
And if that’s the case, the Celtics make as much sense as anyone. They’ve got a roster that’s already capable of winning 50+ games with a bona fide superstar in Jayson Tatum. They have an obvious matching salary in Paul George, and just added a few valuable draft picks, which could help sweeten the deal.Â
On top of that, Curry would be a dream fit in Joe Mazzulla’s offense, and if the roster has any real needs, it’s another point guard and ballhandler. It’s not hard to see why all of these dots are being connected.
Unless Curry demands a trade, the Warriors aren't moving him
At the same time, for now, this remains nothing more than a dream. The Warriors are not trading Curry unless they absolutely have to. According to Anthony Irwin, Warriors’ governor Joe Lacob is holding Curry’s loyalty against him. He knows Curry wants to spend his whole career with the Warriors. He knows that Steph will keep making him money. And he knows that he can save his ammo to build the team back up once Steph retires.
The only way the Warriors are trading Curry is if he tells them he wants out. His contract is up at the end of this year, at which point he could go the LeBron route and sign with any team he wants for a minimum, but at 38, does Steph really want to waste another year on a team that will struggle to make the playoffs?
If he can come to grips with leaving Golden State to chase a title, he should make that decision now, but he needs to tell the front office. They have let him down in recent years, and it sounds like he’s finally starting to get frustrated after yet another failed transaction cycle this summer.
Curry would need to ask for a trade and specifically ask for Boston
If they trade him now, they can still recoup plenty of value on the deal and can paint Steph as the bad guy (it won’t work) while putting themselves in a much better position to rebuild. But after everything Curry has accomplished in Golden State, is he really going to risk any tarnishment to his legacy (fair or not) by asking the team to trade him?
Lacob is betting that he won’t, and so far we’ve seen no reason to believe he’s wrong. So, until Steph decides to put his thumb on the scale, this is nothing more than a pipe dream for the Celtics or any other team that may be interested.
And if Curry does actually request a trade, he’ll hold all the cards. With his contract expiring, it’s unlikely any team would truly break the bank unless they knew he was going to re-sign. Maybe he sees the situation in Boston and decides that’s the perfect place for him to end his storybook career, but unless he makes that decision, it’s not going to happen.
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