“Stephen Curry and Giannis Antetokounmpo could have been teammates in 2013”: The Warriors wanted to trade the 3x NBA champion during his rookie years in the league

Arjun Julka | 09/09/2021
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The Golden State Warriors had plans of shipping Stephen Curry to the Milwaukee Bucks in 2013. The superstar struggled with a lot of injuries during his initial years in the league.

There is no doubt that Stephen Curry has established himself as one of the greatest players in the NBA. The 3x champion is a generational talent that changed the way the game is played today.

However, this was not the case during his initial years of playing pro basketball. Curry faced ample injury woes during the rookie years that would keep him out for months. Thus making his future in the Bay area uncertain.

The Warriors at the time were struggling as a franchise and wanted to become relevant once again. At the time, trading Curry seemed like a sound decision for the organization since he was the 7th pick in the draft and could definitely shoot the ball.

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The Warriors did toe with the idea of trading Steph Curry but ended up trading Monta Ellis to the Milwaukee Bucks for Andrew Bogut.

The Milwaukee Bucks refused a Stephen Curry trade from the Warriors

What might sound baffling right now actually made sense at the time. Curry’s brittle ankles were a huge cause of concern for any franchise willing to take him up. The point guard didn’t exhibit physical toughness or athleticism during that era.

The same season, the Bucks drafted the Greek Freak Giannis Antentokounmpo. Thus in hindsight,  Curry being traded to the Bucks would have seen him pairing up with Giannis. That could have probably been the greatest duo in NBA history.

The pairing up would have been ideal as Curry would bring the skill set while Giannis would exhibit physicality. Following the 2012-13 season, Curry would have a major upward curve in his graph.

Also read: “Not even Klay Thompson can knock down these shots Stephen Curry hits so effortlessly”: Viral video of the Warriors MVP hitting high-arching bombs leave NBA Twitter in awe

The Warriors had developed homegrown talents in the form of Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. The Dubs would also acquire Andre Iguodala in a trade, and the rest is history.

Post Edited By: Amulya Shekhar
Giannis Antetokounmpo Golden State Warriors Milwaukee Bucks Stephen Curry

About the author

Arjun Julka

Arjun Julka is a NBA author at The SportsRush. Basketball isn’t just a sport for this 26-year-old, who hails from Mumbai. He began watching the sport after stumbling upon a court in his society, helping him identify an undiscovered passion for the game of hoops. Now an ardent fan, Arjun supports Stephen Curry and the Warriors but also enjoys watching Giannis Antetokounmpo own the paint. When it comes to the GOAT debate, the TSR author feels LeBron James is yet to receive a lot of his due but cannot deny marveling at Michael Jordan’s resume.

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