Should the Golden State Warriors blow up their team and move on from Stephen Curry?

The glory days of the Golden State Warriors appear to be behind us, as the team that won four NBA championships from 2015-2022 has taken a vastly different form. It’s always tough to dismantle a team that is looked at so fondly, but there is a legitimate case to be made that the Warriors should start a full-on rebuild sooner rather than later. All statistics are sourced from Basketball Reference.

The Golden State Warriors were hoping that the 2021 NBA Draft would inject new life into their dynasty. They did win the 2022 title, so it wasn’t a complete failure. However, the Warriors have not exactly found the next cornerstones of their franchise, as they thought they might have when they took Jonathan Kuminga seventh and Moses Moody 14^th that year.

In April 2023, Heavy reported that there was friction between Moody and the team. “He makes a lot of mistakes. He makes turnovers, a lot of careless turnovers, plays you can chalk up to inexperience. Dribbling out of bounds, driving into pressure without a real plan, classic young player stuff.” With that said, the Warriors signed him to a three-year, $39 million extension in October 2024.

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The Warriors didn’t really have many options but to keep Moody around for a bit longer. Golden State elected not to extend Kuminga before the 2024-2025 season. Bleacher Report wrote that he was looking for much more than the $30 million the Warriors reportedly wanted to give him. He’s shown improvement, but it’s understandable why the team would not want to fork over big bucks.

The Warriors have received contributions from several unsung heroes throughout the course of their dynastic run. Kevon Looney’s impact on those title runs probably doesn’t get talked about enough. ABC News wrote in 2022, after Golden State won their most recent title, that “the Warriors needed Looney more than they knew.”

Looney would do all of the things that weren’t as glamorous as shooting threes from long distance. He would control the glass, and play exceptional perimeter defense on smaller players when he was switched out on to them. Forbes also wrote about his exceptional screen-setting and deft passing ability.

He’s still only 28 years old, but it feels like he’s older. The San Francisco Chronicle pointed out that Looney was not getting as much blame for the Warriors uneven 2022-2023 campaign, but his rebounding and mobility didn’t seem to be the same as it was during Golden State’s heyday. He played a lot of games early on in his career, and it might be taking its toll now.

The discussion around the Warriors and their potential to remain relevant in the title chase has centered around the possibility of them acquiring a second star to pair with Stephen Curry. That has proven to be easier said than done, as Golden State has not landed someone of that caliber despite rumors that they were close to doing so.

Before he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers, Paul George was close to becoming a Golden State Warrior. ESPN reported that the deal was close to being done, but Golden State had some reservations about including young assets like Jonathan Kuminga or Brandon Podziemski in the deal. It’s fair to wonder whether the pair was worth holding on to.

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Draymond Green seemed to confirm that the team discussed the possibility of bringing Utah Jazz All-Star Lauri Markkanen to the Bay Area, but that their front office decided not to play hardball with Utah. Green said “Then Danny Ainge was being Danny Ainge,” referring to the Jazz’s CEO of basketball operations, who is notorious for getting trade partners to overpay.

Perhaps the only real way to reset everything in Golden State would be to make a move that would send shockwaves throughout the NBA and the world of sports. If the Warriors traded Stephen Curry, they would undoubtedly receive a gargantuan haul, even at this stage of the sharpshooter’s career.

The Warriors also need to look at the situation logically from another standpoint. As long as Curry is on the team, Golden State is unlikely to be able to be in serious consideration for premier draft capital. That speaks volumes about how great he still is, but it limits the prospects of Golden State being able to take a blue-chip player in the draft, which ultimately limits their upside.

The Warriors also need to look at the situation logically from another standpoint. As long as Curry is on the team, Golden State is unlikely to be able to be in serious consideration for premier draft capital. That speaks volumes about how great he still is, but it limits the prospects of Golden State being able to take a blue-chip player in the draft, which ultimately limits their upside.

As we alluded to earlier, it would be difficult for clear-minded Warriors fans to be that upset by the organization if they decided to trade Curry or Draymond Green in the near future. They’ve been so good for so long, and the franchise has displayed a type of patience that many others might not have at various points in the last few years.

It’s often said in sports that it is better to trade a player a year too early than a year too late. Green and Klay Thompson’s value on the trade market was better years ago than it is now, but the Warriors elected to run it back with the core three players through the 2023-2024 season. It’s a nod to the accomplishments the trio has notched, but they may have sacrificed future flexibility by doing so.

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Current Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy probably doesn’t want to be known as the person who traded Curry or Green away from the team, and that is completely understandable. Dunleavy played for the Warriors himself in the 2000’s, and has a strong connection to the area. However, his best move in his present role might be to make the most difficult decision possible.