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While it seems obvious, every NBA team is desperate to acquire as many superstars as possible. Those players are the key to success; you simply won’t compete for a championship without a great deal of talent on the roster. For the Golden State Warriors, that talent primarily exists in the form of Steph Curry and Klay Thompson.

Although it’s almost impossible to picture the Super Splash Brothers playing anywhere besides the Bay Area, that scenario almost became a reality. In fact, the Golden State Warriors almost traded Steph Curry away on more than one occasion.

Stephen Curry’s career with the Golden State Warriors

As the son of Dell Curry, basketball was in Stephen Curry’s blood. He was deemed too small to follow in his father’s footsteps at Virginia Tech, however, and ultimately landed at Davidson. There’ he rose to national prominence as a pure shooter.

After three impressive seasons, Curry entered the 2009 NBA draft; the Golden State Warriors snagged him seventh overall, and the guard immediately slotted into the lineup. While Steph didn’t win Rookie of the Year—that honor went to Tyreke Evans—he averaged 17.5 points and 5.9 rebounds per night, proving he could hang at the professional level.

Despite having some injury issues, Curry continued to improve. As the Warriors developed into the class of the NBA, their guard turned into a legitimate star. With seemingly limitless range, Steph picked up back-to-back NBA MVP awards and helped Golden State Claim three championships.

The Golden State Warriors almost traded their star player

During his time with the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry has blossomed into a legitimate NBA star. The organization, however, almost traded the guard on more than one occasion, as spelled out by Fadeaway World.

The first instance came on draft night in 2009; Steve Kerr, who was then working for the Phoenix Suns, was a fan of Curry and attempted to trade up to select the guard. He offered Golden State Amar’e Stoudemire, but the deal fell through due to the big man’s health. While that might not have technically counted as trading Steph Curry away, it could have kept him from ever joining the Warriors.

The other trade attempts came in 2011 when Golden State was looking for some extra star power to help them get over the hump. The Warriors initially discussed sending Curry to the Bucks as part of the Andrew Bogut deal; Milwaukee was concerned about his injury history, so they ended up receiving Monta Ellis in his place.

During that same season, both Curry and Klay Thompson may have been headed to Hornets in exchange for Chris Paul. While New Orleans was happy to accept, the guard wasn’t willing to sign an extension with the Warriors, and the deal fell through. It’s worth noting, however, that former general manager Larry Riley has since denied making the offer.

In hindsight, keeping Stephen Curry was incredibly smart

Every franchise has a handful of stars who they let slip through their collective fingers. Thankfully for the Golden State Warriors, Stephen Curry wasn’t one of them.

The guard played a key role in the Warriors rise to prominence and, after the lost 2019-20 campaign, he’ll be essential in getting them back to the top. The Western Conference might be stacked but, if you have both Curry and Klay Thompson back to full health and add a high-quality draft pick to the mix, Golden State should return to form.

This year, Golden State Warriors fans got a taste of life without Steph Curry. Thankfully, their marquee man was only injured and hadn’t been traded away for good.

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Senior Writer, Programmer

Joe Kozlowski

Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he’s a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie.

Growing up loving Shaquille O’Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he’s continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives.

As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He’s barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe’s big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level.

Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.