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.
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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.
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.
Relive the 2019 NBA All-Star alley-oop from Stephen Curry to Giannis before the two former #KiaMVP‘s matchup on #NBAXmas! @warriors take on the @Bucks Christmas Day 12/25 at 2:30pm/et on ABC. pic.twitter.com/eGUgr2wTgA
— NBA (@NBA) December 21, 2020
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.
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.