Should Stephen Curry move on from the Warriors?

The Warriors are mediocre, boring, and Steph Curry is practically waving the white flag on this season.

“There’s a responsibility to keep the franchise in a good place and a good place when it comes to where we leave this thing when we’re done,” Curry told reporters after the Warriors lost to the Raptors on Monday. “Nobody wants to be out of date or be in a situation where you’re missing out on opportunities. But that doesn’t mean you’re desperate, you’re just throwing assets around.”

This feels like Tom Brady’s last season in New England all over again. Back in 2020, the Patriots were headed for cap hell, the roster was aging, and it was clear the franchise was preparing for a transition phase. Brady saw the writing on the wall, traveled to Tampa Bay and won his seventh ring, cementing his legacy as the undisputed NFL GOAT. Now Steph faces a similar crossroads: Does he ride out Golden State, no matter how bleak it gets? Or does he pull a Brady and chase rings elsewhere?

Unlike Brady, Curry can’t walk free: He’s signed through 2026-27 for a total of $122.21 million after inking an extension last offseason. So if Steph wanted out, he had to request a trade. Curry is eligible to be traded this season, though he would like more clarity on Golden State’s situation this summer. By June, he’ll know where the Warriors land in the draft and whether a superstar trade is worth pursuing. But actions speak louder than words, and everything Golden State has done so far screams that they’re not serious about contending right now.

A year ago, the Warriors’ Pascal Siakam moved on. Last offseason, they didn’t push all their chips to center for Paul George, Lauri Markkanen or Zach LaVine. Now, it appears they don’t believe Jimmy Butler — or anyone else available — will move the needle at the expense of significant future assets. With George struggling in Philadelphia and Markkanen with back issues in Utah, a deal may not have moved the needle enough for this team to climb back into contention anyway. But with Curry still a top-10 player and Draymond Green still a world-class defender, their annual passivity in pursuit of stars suggests cost-cutting and long-term planning — not winning — are the organization’s priorities.

The state of the franchise is bleak. The team’s effort is uninspiring. The arena feels lifeless. This is not the happy, chaotic Warriors team that revolutionized basketball. That energy is gone, replaced by a snooze of a team playing a style the league figured out. And for a group so focused on the future, the two-timeline experiment failed spectacularly. James Wiseman over LaMelo Ball. Jonathan Kuminga over Franz Wagner. Moses Moody over the Şengün Alps. Three lottery picks, no clear successors.

“We want to be in the position where we want to be relevant in a championship-type chase,” Curry said Monday after the team dipped below .500 at 19-20. “But that doesn’t mean we become desperate. It’s better to be a little patient and understand what it looks like.”

Usually, stars push their franchises to burn all future picks for players who help in the present. LeBron James did for a decade. And for a moment, it looked like Curry might. Those comments Monday contrasted with his criticism of the two-timeline plan just a week earlier, when he said the postmortem on it would be “not great” and “I just want to win.” So Steph struck a different tone, but after Draymond made it public.

“Steve Kerr, Steph Curry and I all disagree with mortgaging the future of this organization and say we’re going after it right now,” Green told Yahoo Sports’ Vincent Goodwill. “Bad teams do it. Bad organizations do it.”

Green’s comments sent ripples through the NBA world on Monday. Later that day at a team shooting round, Kerr told The Athletic: “We will not give in. But you have to be realistic and organizational about where you are. And you have to keep in mind what lies ahead in the future. I probably won’t join, but I will tell you that if this organization gave away the next six or seven draft picks for a wild swing, that would be the most irresponsible thing they could do.”

It’s certainly strange for three of the NBA’s biggest contenders to just give up on this season. The messages sound like some kind of coordinated PR campaign about mindful trading. Maybe it’s a leverage play in an attempt to get Butler or someone else without mortgaging a single draft pick. Or maybe the team is preparing to contend with Steph dealing with lingering knee pain and Green with a back problem. Or maybe it’s just the cold reality: The race is over, this team isn’t built for an all-in race anymore.

For all the issues with the team’s struggling youth, lack of depth and Kerr’s rusty system, the front office would likely be more willing to make a win-now move if Curry was still playing at an MVP level. But he isn’t. Curry is averaging 22.7 points on 16.8 shooting, both career lows since the first three seasons of his career. Steph’s scoring efficiency has also declined as he no longer gets to the basket as often, posting just 12.6% of his attempts in the restricted area, well down from 25% in his best years. And while he remains a devastating outside shooter, the 3-point shooting habits have caught up across the league. It’s hard to justify a big trade when your best player is either slowed by a knee problem or is just showing the natural signs of aging at 36.

But even still, Curry is still a great player with an unmatched perimeter game that confounds defenses, and his gold medal performance in the Olympics showcased his nuclear shot-making abilities. He can still play at the highest level. So, if no trade is made now or this summer, it’s certainly possible that this is Steph’s last dance with the only franchise he’s ever known.

There is a special honor in being a one-team player like Kobe Bryant or Dirk Nowitzki. Kobe Bryant gave us the iconic 60-point Finals, but the Lakers averaged 30 wins over the last five seasons of his career. Dirk Nowitzki mentored Luka Dončić, but toiled on lottery-bound Mavericks teams. But there’s a big difference between Steph and these legends: Steph is playing basketball at a much higher level at age 36. He can still contribute to a championship-level team. He’s more like Brady – a player who could lift the right team to a title contender.

If Steph hits the trade market, the possibilities are endless. Imagine pairing him with Nikola Jokić in Denver, flanking Victor Wembanyama in San Antonio, or leaving the Magic, Rockets or Timberwolves. Any of those would give him a better chance to win a fifth or sixth ring than the Warriors realistically could.

“It would mean everything” Steph told Andscape in 2023 when asked about winning a fifth championship. “And you obviously understand every championship you get, you put yourself in another echelon of legends who have won at the highest of high levels. Obviously, Bill Russell, nobody’s going to catch that (11 rings). But to get to Jordan winning six and Kobe winning five, the Spurs’ Tim Duncan. So all of that is about the inherent legacy that you want to continue to create.”

Brady’s decision to leave the Patriots makes a strong case that being a lifer is overrated. Raised in Northern California, Brady idolized Joe Montana growing up and watched him leave the 49ers for the Chiefs late in his career; Montana made the playoffs in two seasons in Kansas City, but the team fell short. So Brady knew the risk of leaving home. And he discovered the advantage. Winning his seventh ring in Tampa Bay only enhanced his legacy in New England, even if it wasn’t in a Pats jersey. It became the ultimate validation of his greatness, proving he could win anywhere, with anyone.

Curry built his life in the Bay Area. The challenges of uprooting one’s family must be part of the equation. But his legacy on the field is intact. Should Steph leave Golden State, he will always be revered as a franchise legend. The statue will still be built. The retired jersey number will still hang in the rafters. Steph still has room to climb the all-time rankings and at this point only calls will move him.

One of the biggest sacrifices of Steph’s career was allowing Kevin Durant to join the Warriors. Curry might have refused to relinquish some of the limelight. Instead, he chose to share it. KD helped him win two more rings, but ultimately took both Finals MVPs. And Steph’s numbers took a dive those years. But that pick was for the betterment of the franchise.

Leaving could also be for Golden State’s best. After all, as Steph himself said: There’s a responsibility to keep the franchise in a good place when he’s done. So what’s better for the Warriors: stay around .500 for the foreseeable future, or trade Steph for a move before he declines and then rebuild? It is definitely the latter. Especially with the 2025 and 2026 drafts headlined by generational talents like Cooper Flagg and AJ Dybantsa. Flagg’s versatile upside or Dybantsa’s do-it-all talent would better define a rebuild than clinging to the past.

Maybe the Warriors win a top pick in the next two drafts. Perhaps a suitable star will become available. Maybe Steph’s Brady plan actually involves sticking around long enough for the team to recharge for more runs.

But right now the championship window is closed. And this season is over, so Curry has six months to consider which door he walks through: the one that keeps him where it all began, or one that dares him to chase something even bigger.