NBA Trade Rumors: Warriors must trade Steph Curry if not willing to mortgage future

For a team that is trying to win one more championship with Steph Curry, the Warriors missing the playoffs entirely is almost unforgivable. That's why, heading into the NBA Trade Deadline, you'd imagine that Golden State would be willing to make a strong win-now move. Interestingly enough, that may not be entirely the case. According to a recent report, the core of the franchise doesn't believe that the team should mortgage the future with a win-now move.

That's completely an understandable stance for the franchise but if they're not willing to make a win-now move, then perhaps it's time for the Warriors to make another one. If Golden State is not willing to mortgage the future to surrounding Curry with a winning roster, maybe it's time for the team to trade Steph. If the Warriors aren't willing to take the gamble that it would take to keep this championship window open, it makes little sense to keep Curry on the roster.

How will Steph Curry push the narrative forward?

Curry doesn't seem like the player who is ever going to "demand" a trade away from the franchise but if the Warriors continue to be hesitant to make a big move via trade, there's a big conversation that's going to have to take place. Curry must figure out whether he's willing to play the final few years of his career as a non-contender or if he's going to push for the Warriors to be more aggressive.

If Golden State is unwilling to be more aggressive via trade, it's unimaginable how this team is going to be able to emerge as a championship contender in the foreseeable future. That means that the next championship window that may open for the Warriors is probably going to be when Curry has long retired.

It's admittedly a difficult situation all around. The Warriors want to keep their flexibility open and Curry probably would much rather play for a contender. Is there a middle ground of any kind for the two sides? I'm sure that's the hope. However, if the Warriors are sold on not mortgaging the future, we may have arrived at the point where they might be better off trading Curry.