The Golden State Warriors spent the offseason with a pretty clear mandate: add enough around Stephen Curry to stay in the mix. Instead, more than six weeks into the summer, they still haven’t made a meaningful move, and that silence has only fed the sense that things between Curry and the organization are getting less comfortable.
That’s the backdrop for a trade idea Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin O’Connor floated involving the Charlotte Hornets. He didn’t present it as a prediction, but he did lay out why Charlotte could at least make sense as a destination if Curry ever pushed for a change.
“We talked about it earlier in the year when Dell Curry, Steph’s father and Hornets announcer, got his No. 30 retired. Stephen Curry was interviewed by local Charlotte TV, and he joked about how he asked his dad if he could wear No. 30 if he played in Charlotte.”
“He’s joking around. But the fact is, sometimes with humor, there is some truth in it.
Because I’m sure in the back of Steph’s mind, he’s wondered, ‘Hey, what would it be like to play for Charlotte?’ So, I do think, you look at this Hornets team, they traded LaMelo Ball, they have a hole in the backcourt.
Stephen Curry, if he wanted to, could go fill that void.”
That Charlotte connection is one part of the appeal. The other is the Hornets’ roster situation after LaMelo Ball was moved to the Minnesota Timberwolves. O’Connor pointed to that opening in the backcourt and suggested Curry could fit there if he ever wanted out of Golden State.
He then sketched out a hypothetical framework, making clear that the deal would have to wait until later in the summer.
“A fake trade that I had in mind this offseason- let’s just say Stephen Curry decided he wanted to go East to the Charlotte Hornets. Let’s say he wanted to go home, wear No. 30 with Charlotte, and go and pursue a championship.”
“Today, the Hornets are not able to put up a package that would meet the demands financially for the Golden State Warriors… All that said, late August, late September, a deal like Christian Anderson and Tidjane Salaun. Those are the younger guys. Then the veteran salaries, Grayson Allen, Grant Williams, Tre Mann, and a whole bunch of picks.”
The logic is straightforward enough. Golden State would want players and draft capital.
Charlotte, after moving Ball, would also have a reason to trim and reshape its roster. O’Connor also noted that there haven’t been any signs Curry is actually asking out, even if the current state of the Warriors could plant the seeds for future tension.
On the money side, the mechanics can be made to work. Curry is set to make $62.5 million, while the combined salaries of Christian Anderson ($4.2 million), Tidjane Salaun ($8.2 million), Grayson Allen ($18.1 million), Grant Williams ($14.2 million), and Tre Mann ($8.0 million) total $52.7 million. That would leave Charlotte taking on $9.8 million in extra salary.
There’s another route, too. Because the Hornets have a $40.7 million trade exception after parting with LaMelo Ball, they could absorb a large chunk of Curry’s cap hit.
In that version, Charlotte would only need to send out Christian Anderson and Grayson Allen, plus a significant haul of draft picks, to make the numbers line up. That would also give Golden State more cap flexibility going forward.
From a pure rebuilding angle, that kind of setup would help the Warriors. But O’Connor’s point was that it still wouldn’t be enough for a player like Curry.
If Golden State ever seriously entertained moving him, the return would have to include star-level talent, not just salary filler and picks. In his view, names like Kon Knueppel or Brandon Miller would have to be part of the conversation for Charlotte to have a real shot.
Even then, a deal still feels far-fetched. Charlotte appears committed to its current rebuild, and Curry has not publicly signaled that he wants out. But the situation in Golden State is hard to ignore, especially with the team looking hesitant while Curry’s timeline keeps ticking.
For now, the most likely outcome is still Curry staying put and finishing his career in the Bay Area. But if the Warriors keep standing still and the season goes sideways, the conversation could change. And because Curry is on an expiring contract, a future move to a team like the Hornets would at least give him a new path toward another title.
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