Steph Curry: Warriors Have Responsibility Not to Make 'Desperate Trades' amid Rumors

Having lost 17 of their last 24 games to fall all the way to 12th in the Western Conference, the Golden State Warriors are at a crossroads leading up to the NBA trade deadline on Feb. 6.

Stephen Curry said he doesn't want to see the Warriors try to make "desperate trades" that would jeopardize the long-term future of the organization:

"Desperate trades or desperate moves that deplete the future, there is a responsibility on allowing or keeping the franchise in a good space and good spot when it comes to where we leave this thing when we're done. Doesn't mean that you're not trying to get better. It doesn't mean that you're not active in any type of search to, if you have an opportunity where a trade makes sense or even in the summer free agency [move] makes sense. You want to continue to get better.

"Nobody wants to be stale or be in a situation where you're passing up opportunities. But it doesn't mean that you're desperate just flinging assets all around the place just because you want to do something."

Curry's comments came after the Warriors suffered a 104-101 loss to a Toronto Raptors team that has the fourth-worst record in the NBA (9-31) and had lost 16 of their previous 17 games.

Jimmy Butler is the biggest name who seems likely to be moved within the next three weeks, but it doesn't seem like the Warriors are going to make an aggressive push for the six-time All-Star.

Per The Athletic's Anthony Slater, Marcus Thompson II and Sam Amick, the Warriors aren't considered a "viable option" for Butler because of his age, injury history and contract.

Since the Warriors are hard-capped at the first apron ($178.1 million), they would have to match salaries with Butler's $48.8 million number for this season to make a deal. That would require moving either Andrew Wiggins ($26.3 million) or Draymond Green ($24.1 million).

Green's status as a franchise icon makes it hard to imagine the Warriors trading him. Wiggins has had a terrific bounce-back season with 16.5 points per game on 39.7 percent three-point shooting, so they might consider him too valuable to move at this point for a player who makes nearly twice as much money as he does.

It is unusual to see a 36-year-old superstar who is still playing at a high level talking about the organization making sure it's long-term prospects are intact at a time when the team is struggling this much.

These comments come after Green told Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports on Monday that he, Curry and head coach Steve Kerr are all in agreement about not "mortgaging off" the future for a potential short-term gain.

"Bad teams do that," Green said. "Bad organizations do that. We're not neither one."

Maybe there's confidence among the trio of Curry, Green and Kerr that the Warriors will be able to do something significant in the offseason to set them up for the 2025-26 season. They were apparently very close to striking a deal for Paul George last summer.

The Warriors currently project to be roughly $49 million under the tax line for next season with Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody eligible for restricted free agency. The list of potential free agents this summer includes Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle.

James is a player the Warriors keep hoping will at least entertain the idea of playing for them, but there's never been any indication he wants to leave the Los Angeles Lakers. Irving seems content with the Dallas Mavericks, but his history suggests things could always change.

Ingram is the only player from that group who is a free agent with no player option on his contract. Given the state of the New Orleans Pelicans, it wouldn't be a surprise if he leaves after this season.

But all of these are questions for the Warriors to figure out after this season. They need to find some answers right now because they have fallen under .500 (19-20) after winning 12 of their first 15 games to start the season.

The only teams currently behind the Warriors in the West are the Portland Trail Blazers (13-25), Utah Jazz (10-28) and Pelicans (8-32).