GS Warriors: Will Stephen Curry's Lack of Playing Time Cost Keith Smart His Job?

In what can only be described as a frustrating freshman campaign for head coach Keith Smart, it's hard to pinpoint which will be the reason that he will not roam the team's sideline next season.

But his decision to fluctuate Stephen Curry's minutes like mood swings in a Charlie Sheen interview has certainly perplexed the fanbase all season long.

Since the New Year began, Curry has logged 40 or more minutes in eight of his 39 games. This, however, is not the perplexing part. Curry, winner of the 2011 Taco Bell Skills Challenge and runner-up in last year's Rookie of the Year Award, is one of the team's most dynamic players and possibly the most important player in the franchise's future.

The curious stat line is this: In seven of those 39 games, Curry has failed to log more than 25 minutes.

Considering the Warriors have not been relevant in the Western Conference playoff picture for the majority of 2011, that stat has to be more frustrating for fans than a Sweet 16 featuring four double-digit seeds.

In today's NBA world, offenses have been simplified to the point that X's-and-O's coaching is not nearly as important as it once was. Call a few pick-and-rolls, draw up a couple nice inbound plays, and coaches have done their job during the game.

But these coaches are not paid for their in-game magic. First and foremost, their duty is to build and maintain chemistry between all players and coaches on the roster. Secondly—and this could even be considered first on a younger club—these coaches are paid to develop their budding superstars.

So why then does Smart choose not to play his rising superstar? After all, Curry leads the team in assists (5.7), three-point percentage (43.2), and free-throw percentage (92.7) and leads all of his backcourt teammates in field goal percentage (48.0).

Curry's 33.4 minutes (fourth on the team, 60th in the NBA) rank behind players like Sacramento's Beno Udrih, Washington's Andray Blatche, Denver's Aaron Afflalo and Boston's Jeff Green. This is not a knock on these players, but they aren't in Curry's class.

His turnovers used to be the source of Smart's criticism, and he had a point—Curry played sloppy at times. But Curry's had five or more turnovers in just two of his 13 games this month. That's the same number as Chicago's Derrick Rose and Phoenix's Steve Nash over the same stretch. Heck, Deron Williams has done it twice this month despite playing just six games.

Perhaps Smart is simply trying to re-create his predecessor Don Nelson's propensity for a short leash for his youngsters. But even Nelson let Curry learn on the court—he's averaging nearly three minutes less per game this season.

Only Smart knows the reason for his decision, but you'd have to think the team's owner would want answers. The problem for Smart is that those questions may not come until his next job interview, as his ship may have already set sail.