Bill Simmons thinks there’s one way a Stephen Curry trade could ever start to make sense: San Antonio going all-in.
On his podcast, Simmons floated a blockbuster scenario in which the Spurs would put together a massive offer for Curry if Golden State ever decided it was time to move on from its star. The pitch, in Simmons’ view, would be simple - load up the picks, add De’Aaron Fox, and try to land “2024 Olympic Steph” for a run at a title.
“It’s not a ring chase, but what if San Antonio, with Fox and all the picks they have, just said, ‘Fuck it,’ and went to say, like, ‘We’ll do Fox. You put the picks together any way you want for a couple years of Steph here.’
And now we’re trying to acquire 2024 Olympic Steph, and he goes to San Antonio and tries to grab a couple more. It’s pretty interesting.”
Simmons also pointed to the Spurs’ draft war chest as the kind of ammo that could make them a serious bidder. He noted Atlanta’s first-round pick, a swap with Boston, swaps with Dallas or Minnesota in 2030, a 2030 swap with Sacramento, and “all their firsts,” along with other pieces. In his view, Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper would stay off the table, though Carter Bryant could be included.
“Because people always say, ‘Oh, they’ll trade him back to Charlotte.’ He’s not doing that.
He’s not winning anything in Charlotte. But with San Antonio, who has Atlanta’s first-round pick, they have a swap with Boston.
They have swaps with Dallas or Minnesota in 2030. They have a 2030 swap with Sacramento, and they have all their firsts.
And they have other stuff, too. I don’t think they’d put Castle and Dylan Harper… Those guys would not be on the table, but maybe Carter Bryant would be on there.”
For now, it’s all theoretical. Curry has spent his entire 18-year NBA career with Golden State, and he has said multiple times that he wants to finish there. A trade request remains highly unlikely, especially given that loyalty.
Still, the timing around Golden State makes the idea harder to ignore. The Warriors have missed on every major offseason target, with links to LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis, Jaylen Brown and Kawhi Leonard all ending without a deal. Instead, the team appears content to run it back with the same group, and reports suggest it does not see itself as a true title contender.
That conservative stance may have something to do with ownership. Recent reporting indicated Joe Lacob is wary of giving up multiple first-round picks for short-term help if it means sacrificing the franchise’s future.
The concern is obvious: if the Warriors spend their draft capital, don’t win another championship and then enter the post-Curry era without enough assets to rebuild, they could be stuck in no-man’s-land.
That’s exactly why some fans want the front office to go harder while Curry is still there. He’s in the final year of his current contract, and he’s eligible for a two-year, $136 million extension. Insiders have suggested that could give him leverage to push for a win-now move.
If Curry ever did become available, San Antonio would have the kind of package to at least enter the conversation. The Spurs just made a deep NBA Finals run, have Victor Wembanyama leading a young core, and own five tradable first-round picks plus three pick swaps.
A deal built around Fox, Keldon Johnson, multiple first-rounders and pick swaps, and possibly another young piece like Carter Bryant would be hard to dismiss. Even then, Simmons made clear that Castle and Harper likely wouldn’t be included.
Any real trade would also need Curry’s approval, and that’s the biggest obstacle of all. He has repeatedly said he wants to stay with the Warriors for his whole career, which makes a move elsewhere difficult to picture.
But if Golden State ever changes course and decides it can’t build another contender around him, Simmons’ idea sketches out a path that would make sense on both sides: the Spurs chasing a new power structure with Curry next to Wembanyama, Harper and Castle, and the Warriors starting over with a huge pile of draft capital.
For now, though, it stays in the realm of what-ifs.
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