The idea alone feels unsettling. For more than a decade, the Golden State Warriors and Stephen Curry have been inseparable, a partnership defined by championships, loyalty, and a brand of basketball that reshaped the league. That is why the current moment feels so strange. Golden State is no longer chasing titles. It is searching for answers.
The turning point came when Jimmy Butler suffered a season-ending torn ACL. What was supposed to be a last-ditch push quickly collapsed, and with it came a question no one in the Bay Area ever wanted to seriously consider. If the Warriors are no longer built to contend, what does doing right by Curry actually look like?
This week, that uncomfortable idea moved from whispers to print. Writing for CBS Sports, analyst Sam Quinn laid out a bold hypothetical that would send Curry to the Houston Rockets as part of a three-team trade. It was framed not as a prediction, but as a thought experiment driven by logic rather than emotion.
“Warriors fans would rather watch Curry lose for them than win elsewhere… But if you believe this current group has no real championship equity, then purely logically speaking, a Curry trade potentially recouping meaningful assets is the best long-term decision because it could increase championship equity at a point in the future in which actually winning a championship is somewhat more plausible…
Stephen Curry traded: Why this idea refuses to go away
Quinn’s argument is simple, if unsettling. If Golden State no longer has realistic championship upside, then holding onto Curry at all costs may delay the inevitable. Trading him, with his full consent, could accelerate a rebuild and restore future title chances rather than prolonging a slow decline.
The proposed framework is ambitious. Curry would head to Houston. Buddy Hield, Gui Santos and a 2030 first-round pick would move to Brooklyn. In return, the Warriors would receive Fred VanVleet, Dorian Finney-Smith, Jabari Smith Jr., Reed Sheppard and a 2029 first-round pick. Youth, depth, and flexibility would replace a single generational star.
Emotionally, it still feels off-limits. Curry is not just another superstar. He is the franchise. Yet on the court, there is no sign that he is fading. At 37, he is averaging over 27 points per game, ranking among the league’s top scorers, while leading the NBA in made three-pointers. The problem is not Curry. It is the roster around him.
Houston enters the conversation because of opportunity. In recent roster and asset breakdowns, the Rockets control a deep collection of draft picks and young players. Quinn also floated the basketball appeal of a reunion with Kevin Durant, a pairing that would instantly shift the balance of power in the Western Conference.
“These ideas are supposed to grow more ridiculous with each passing trade… What’s more ridiculous than exploring a Stephen Curry trade? It only happens with his say-so. We’re pretending we live in a world in which he’s decided he’d rather win elsewhere than lose in Golden State…
Seeing Curry in a Rockets jersey still feels wrong. Golden State traded for Butler precisely to avoid this crossroads. When that plan collapsed, so did the illusion of stability.
This idea may never go beyond theory. Curry has earned the right to decide how his career ends. Still, the fact that this conversation now exists says everything about where the Warriors are, and how fragile even the strongest dynasties can become.
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