Some may argue that the Golden State Warriors don’t deserve Stephen Curry at this stage of his career.
The 37-year-old NBA champion has orchestrated masterful performance after masterful performance with the Dubs this year. Unfortunately, though, Curry’s brilliance hasn’t been rewarded with consistent victories, as Golden State sits at 13-14 through 27 games.
Are the Warriors open to ending Curry’s misery in the Bay by sending him to an under-the-radar Eastern Conference franchise in exchange for a four-time All-Star? Golden State of Mind’s Mark Delucchi believes so.
“While (Trae) Young, (Dyson) Daniels, and (Onyeka) Okongwu combine for too much salary to be traded for Curry straight up, it actually creates an opportunity for a larger deal that would help both teams as they move to new timelines,” Delucchi wrote Tuesday.
“Both the Warriors and Hawks would seemingly benefit from a swap of Draymond Green and Zaccharie Risacher. Risacher looks like a solid rotation player, but ultimately lacks the ceiling associated with a typical top pick.”
“In a world with Curry heading to Atlanta, turning Risacher into a more advanced player in his current role would be beneficial. Meanwhile, the Dubs would get another young prospect.”
Delucchi’s complete trade concept sends Curry, Green, Quentin Post, De’Anthony Melton, and Al Horford to the Hawks for Young, Okangwu, Risacher, Daniels, and three future first-round picks.
While it’s well-documented that Young is a tier or two below Curry, the Oklahoma product’s play style would make him a solid fit with the Warriors.
Like Curry, Young is at his best when he can find advantageous matchups on the perimeter, use his change of pace, side-to-side ball handling to get opponents to lean in one direction, and have a field day from beyond the arc.
Unfortunately, Young is having a horrendous three-point shooting season (19.4%) and has missed 22 games due to a nagging knee injury.
Still, it doesn't change the fact that Young is a special offensive talent who’s already ascended to stardom in the big leagues. That said, it's nearly impossible to envision the Warriors trading Curry for any asset unless he requested it.
The Dubs appear far more focused on building a championship-contending roster around Curry than blowing up their roster and starting fresh.
Expect Mike Dunleavy Jr. And the Warriors to complete a season-saving trade that doesn't feature Curry.
More NBA: Warriors predicted to cut ties with Stephen Curry, acquire $50 million NBA champion star