The Golden State Warriors have spent this offseason doing little to signal Stephen Curry that they’re fully committed to maximizing the final stretch of his career.
Their pursuit of big names came up empty, with the team missing on Giannis Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, and Anthony Davis. The result has been a quiet summer for a franchise that still wants to matter at the top of the West, but hasn’t exactly made a thunderous push to do so.
Golden State did bring back Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis, while also adding Georges Niang, Brandon Williams, and Yaxel Lendeborg in the NBA Draft. That group should keep the Warriors in the mix, but it’s hard to look at that roster and see a team ready to charge back into true championship contention anytime soon.
That backdrop is what makes Curry trade chatter so loud, even if it remains purely hypothetical. Curry has given the Warriors everything since arriving in 2009, and Stephen Jackson of All the Smoke floated a bold idea on Monday: send Curry to the San Antonio Spurs in a deal centered around De'Aaron Fox.
“San Antonio for me,” Jackson said Monday. “You got De'Aaron Fox, they can package one of those, and I ain't even talking about (Dylan) Harper, or (Stephon) Castle, they got 2 big draft picks this year, so they did well in the draft. So they got the pieces to move for a Steph with De'Aaron Fox; I think that would be great.”
It’s the kind of proposal that would light up Spurs fans and probably split the Warriors’ base right down the middle.
Fox, a two-time All-Star, is coming off what was described as arguably the worst NBA Finals showing of all time, with a series full of questionable shots and one particularly glaring moment in Game 4 at Madison Square Garden. Late in that game, he went for a half-hearted layup instead of simply dribbling out the clock and likely getting fouled while the Knicks led by one.
Even with that rough Finals finish, Fox still brings real value. His speed changes the game in transition, and he can slice into the paint in half-court sets before finding teammates with sharp passes from awkward angles.
He averaged 19.7 points and 6.8 assists with the Spurs last season, and in a rebuilding setting in the Bay, he’d profile as a useful long-term guard. That’s why the idea of swapping him for Curry has enough basketball logic behind it to at least sound plausible, even if it would be one of the biggest Western Conference headlines imaginable.
In Other News...
Victor Wembanyama Just Landed A New Spurs Role
Victor Wembanyama is heading into the upcoming season with a different kind of responsibility in San Antonio. Along with the pressure that comes with his own rise, he is expected to help guide the Spurs new frontcourt additions and set the tone for a young group that will be leaning on him for more than just production on the floor.
For Jayden Quaintance and Tarris Reed Jr., that means a chance to learn behind a player who has already established himself as the centerpiece of the teams future. Wembanyamas influence could shape not only how the rookies develop, but also how quickly they adjust to the demands and mentality the Spurs want in their rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Steph Curry To Spurs Buzz Suddenly Feels Worth Watching
The offseason chatter around Golden State has kept Steph Curry in the rumor mill, and the noise has only gotten louder after the Warriors failed to make meaningful roster upgrades. ESPN analyst Kendrick Perkins even floated the idea that Curry should think about moving on, which is the kind of comment that naturally sends speculation spinning in every direction. For San Antonio, it is at least easy to see why the idea has traction, given the Spurs mix of young talent and the kind of long-term flexibility that always invites bigger-swing conversations.
The buzz gets especially interesting because one speculative framework has Curry landing in San Antonio in a deal built around Dylan Harper, DeAaron Fox and future draft capital. It is still firmly in the realm of analysis, not anything close to a real transaction, but it is the sort of proposal that forces you to think about where the Spurs want to press their timeline and what they would be willing to move to do it. Even as the scenario remains hypothetical, it feels like the rare kind of star rumor that fits San Antonios broader rise well enough to keep watching. [Read more 🡒]
Dylan Harper Just Changed The Spurs Debate Around DeAaron Fox
Dylan Harper has spent his first year around a Spurs team trying to sort out both its present and its backcourt future, and he does not sound interested in turning De'Aaron Fox into a roster problem. Harper pointed to Fox as a meaningful part of San Antonios success now and down the road, a notable endorsement in a season where the guard rotation and Foxs contract have both been part of the conversation.
Harper also made clear that the fit questions others might raise are not his concern. He said playing alongside multiple ball-handlers has never bothered him, which only adds another layer to a Spurs guard situation that already has plenty of moving pieces. Foxs role in Harpers development is part of that story, and it leaves San Antonio with a familiar kind of good problem as it weighs how to keep this group together. [Read more 🡒]