NBA Trade Rumors: 5 Reasons for the Warriors Not to Trade Stephen Curry
With four consecutive losses and few breaks in the schedule on the horizon, the Golden State Warriors are pretty much open to anything right now.
After all, three straight home losses was hardly the start that the Warriors had hoped for on their key eight-game home stretch.
When coach Keith Smart dominated the offense early in the season with set plays and a slow-paced, half-court attack, the Warriors often struggled to score enough points to win games.
Now that Smart has opened up the offense and relied on his playmakers to thrive in their more natural up-tempo style, the Warriors have struggled to get key stops in big situations or have failed to secure rebounds when they do manage a stop.
So with the frustration building—and eye-catching responses from the Warriors suddenly-accessible front office—formerly untouchable stars (namely Stephen Curry) are now available for the right price.
But before general manager Larry Riley—or should I say new owner Joe Lacob—blows up this roster, here are five reasons that the Warriors front office should not move Stephen Curry.
5. Entering NBA's Elite
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Ask Warriors fans who the team's most important player is, and the answers will most likely be an even split between Curry and backcourt-mate Monta Ellis.
Ask other teams' fans whom they covet most from the Warriors, however, and Curry will be the dominant—or should I say only—name mentioned.
After Curry posted averages of 24.1 points, 8.1 assists and 6.0 rebounds after January 1st last season, expectations were through the roof for the young point guard.
Unfortunately, expectations were too high, considering those numbers came on a club battered by injuries and missing the new additions from what was considered the team's most productive offseason in recent memory.
Even with this improved, healthy supporting cast, Curry has continued to thrive. His 18.9 points are 26th-best in the league. Of the 25 more prolific scorers, only four (Kobe Bryant, Michael Beasley, Luis Scola and Kevin Martin) play fewer than Curry's 33.7 minutes. And only one of those 25 (Kevin Love) has connected on a better percentage of three-point shots with at least 50 attempts on the year.
The further Curry can distance himself from Smart's doghouse—remember when all believed it was a thing of the past—he should continue to improve on his already impressive career.
4. Cornerstone Position
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In the NBA, there are point guards, centers and everyone else. Plenty of players possess the ability to seamlessly transition between the wing players, and some have the ability to play shooting guard, small forward and power forward.
But few can play spot duty at the point guard or center position.
To play center, it takes size and the physical ability to dominate another giant on the block.
To play point guard, it takes the ability to see the game before it happens. It takes the ability to know when to create for others and when to look for your own offense. And oftentimes, it takes the ability to lead a franchise on and off the court.
Trading away elite point guards is not a rarity in the NBA—it simply does not happen.
A player of this caliber does not often fall into a team's lap as the seventh pick in the draft. Trading away that kind of talent at this position could set a franchise back for years to come.
3. Cupboard Is Barren
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Acie Law, Charlie Bell and Jeremy Lin. Each of these three would struggle to maintain a backup point guard spot on 90 percent of the teams in the league.
However, if Curry is dealt, these are the point guards that the Warriors would be left with on the roster (and for the record, Lin is currently playing for the Reno Bighorns, the Warriors' affiliate in the NBA Developmental League.).
Granted, the Warriors would almost certainly ask for a point guard in return in any deal that shipped out Curry.
But any trade involving Curry would revolve around the Warriors bringing back the impact big man Riley and Co. so desperately covet. In other words, any incoming point guard would be a throw-in player alongside that prized big man (not exactly the point guard a playoff-hopeful club could be comfortable handing the keys to).
Perhaps this team inching closer to another mid-level lottery pick could solve their point guard vacancy in the upcoming draft? Not likely. While nbadraft.net's 2011 NBA mock draft does have seven point guards slated for the first round, four of those point guards are 'tweeners (i.e., lacking the size to play shooting guard and the skill set to play point guard in the NBA).
To make matters worse, the gem of this point guard class (Duke's Kyrie Irving) has been sidelined with a toe injury since early December. And with top prospect Ausin Rivers slated to join the Blue Devils next season, Irving may opt to prolong his NBA plans for the chance of a championship run in 2011-12.
2. Band-Aid on a Gusher
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Stephen Curry is not the source of the Warriors' woes this season. If anything, he's part of the solution for getting this club can back to the postseason.
This team can win with a Curry-Ellis backcourt. However, it will require an intimidating defensive post presence backing up the defensively-challenged duo.
The tall task for the Warriors front office is this: finding that impact player under the basket while holding on to their two talented guards. Riley needs to find the right combination of expiring contracts and young pieces (possibly Reggie Williams or Brandan Wright) that would make teams willing to give up those impactful big men.
Curry has certainly won some games for the Warriors this season, but it's hard to think of any that he's lost. It's far easier to think of losses that have come from the lack of a true banger manning the paint for this Warriors team.
1. Bare Market
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Regardless of the reasons for keeping Curry, the biggest reason not to trade him is the fact that the trade market is so scarce this season.
The biggest names on the market either play the wrong position (Danny Granger, Zach Randolph) or would be a costly one-year rental (Carmelo Anthony). Creating a logjam at a position (while also creating a gaping void at another) would hardly appease this uneasy fanbase.
Save for a highway robbery type of deal (Baron Davis for Dale Davis and Speedy Claxton, anyone?), it would be next to impossible for the Warriors to get equal value in return for Curry. The fact that Lacob is on record saying he would trade Curry does not help Riley in any trade negotiations.
The Warriors bought low on Curry (how he fell seven spots in the draft remains mind-boggling). Good NBA franchises do not buy low just to turn around and sell low.
Another delay in the return to the postseason (especially for a franchise that's uncomfortably used to watching playoff basketball from home) is a far better prospect than watching Curry blossom into a Hall of Famer from afar.
