Golden State Warriors: Why They Should Shut Down Stephen Curry for the Season

So far this season, young Warriors point guard Stephen Curry has struggled to stay on the court, playing in only 26 out of a possible 42 games. In an interview, Warriors owner Joe Lacob said that Steph Curry may be shut down for as much as a month with his nagging ankle injury. In my opinion, it's time to shut Steph down for the season. 

It's true, the Warriors likely need Curry now more than ever for scoring purposes with dynamic guard Monta Ellis traded away to the Milwaukee Bucks. With Curry and newly acquired Andrew Bogut both out for extended periods of time, the Warriors would only have three players on the team averaging double figures: David Lee, Dorell Wright and Nate Robinson. Obviously with this team on the floor, the Warriors would lose a huge percentage of their games—but at this point, it may be worth it on a couple different levels. 

To start things off, Steph's ankles have been ridiculously fragile this season. We do not know what exactly is causing this fragility, but hopefully we have learned from the sad saga of Grant Hill—don't mess with ankles! If I were Warriors ownership, I would want to shut down my valuable asset and make sure he is healthy before returning him to the floor, even if that's next year. 

As well, it would be valuable for some of the younger players on Golden State's roster to get some major looks. Klay Thompson is a guy who looks like he could be a scorer in this league, and it's time for him to get some major looks. Other than that, the Warriors will undoubtedly have trouble getting good looks, but that's a risk that fans should be willing to take if the team comes back strong next year. 

The key reason that the Warriors should shut down Curry is the simple fact that the Warriors will not have their first-round draft pick this offseason unless they fall into the top six. If the Warriors run out a lineup of Nate Robinson, Klay Thompson, Dorell Wright, David Lee and Andris Biedrins to start, there's no question that the Warriors will fall off...quickly. And when they fall off, they should be able to maintain their pick. 

So with the motivation of getting Curry healthy, getting young guys some burn and keeping their pick, the Warriors should rest Curry for the rest of the year. If it isn't already official, they should also do the same with Andrew Bogut. If the Warriors losing rewards them with a Harrison Barnes, Anthony Davis or Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, it is more than worth the pain.