It may be time for Stephen Curry to ask out.

On the surface, that seems like a truly inexplicable statement. Curry has won four championships and two MVPs with the Golden State Warriors, and they have consistently put an excellent team around him to pursue those skyscraper goals.

It probably seemed impossible that Klay Thompson would walk away from the team as well, but he's now teaming up with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving in Dallas. At some point, enough can change that the "impossible" simply becomes "unlikely" and suddenly heartbreak occurs.

What we are going to discuss is a complicated conversation, and this piece is not advocating that Curry would be foolish not to ask for a trade. He is the greatest player in franchise history, has accomplished untold feats in this uniform, and he has deep relationships with the city, the fan base and both Steve Kerr and Draymond Green, who remain with the franchise. Speaking as a fan for a moment and not as someone covering the team, I want Curry to retire with the Warriors having never played a minute for another franchise.

You could easily write a "3 reasons Steph Curry should not demand a trade" piece; perhaps we will. But there is also a case to be made for Curry going to owner Joe Lacob and telling him he is ready to move on, a case likely to be discussed by Curry's inner circle over the coming months, and it's our responsibility to cover that side of the situation as well.

Why would a franchise legend ask out of the only NBA home he has ever known? Let's discuss three compelling reasons that could potentially crack open the door to that possibility.

The Warriors Aren't Contending

Since they share a home state (California) and played an epic first round series during the 2023 NBA Playoffs (and a lopsided play-in game in 2024), it is fair to consider the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings to be rivals.

As is true with any rivalry, you want to beat your competitor fair and square. But you also don't mind it when said adversary takes a hit. And on Saturday, the Kings (along with the rest of the basketball world) found out that the Warriors could receive an Earth-shaking trade request this season.

Bleacher Report NBA Insider Chris Haynes mentioned that Stephen Curry – four-time NBA Champion and two-time MVP – is closely monitoring the Warriors' current situation and that he may want to request a trade from the only franchise he's ever known ahead of the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline.

The reason that he may want to leave his home of the last 15 years is that Curry wants, as the tweet included above suggests, another true chance at competing for an NBA title.

To their credit, the Warriors have done a solid job of re-tooling their roster after the loss of another franchise icon, Klay Thompson – adding solid role players like De'Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, and Kyle Anderson. Given those additions, Curry, Draymond Green, and their blend of young talent, that's a pretty nice squad. But in a loaded Western Conference, that hardly guarantees you a playoff spot, let alone a chance at competing for the title. So, unless the Warriors make another big move (like trade for Lauri Markkanen), they probably won't have a serious chance of making a deep run.

The Kings had a nice offseason, but they still have teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Memphis Grizzlies to deal with out West.

Many people agree that the Kings have a stronger roster than the Warriors.* But still, it would be nice (for Sacramento, at least) if Curry forced the Warriors' hand and pushed them to a rebuild a few years earlier than they would have originally liked.

(*Sidenote: Earlier this offseason, I ran a poll asking which team – the Warriors or Kings – would win more games next season. Of the 112 people that voted, nearly 85% said they believed it would be the Kings.)

The Warriors Are Not Building a Contender Around Curry

Facing long odds to make and advance in the playoffs is one thing if you have the entire force of the team and organization pushing with all of their might in that direction. Win or lose, you gave it your all.

It's hard for Stephen Curry to look at recent developments and conclude that the Warriors are exerting maximum effort to put a contender around him. There are reasonable explanations for why they weren't able to add Paul George or Lauri Markkanen or another star, but they all include some manner of "we weren't willing to give up this young player."

Brandin Podziemski was unexpectedly good out of the gate as a rookie. Jonathan Kuminga has some real scoring upside. James Wiseman looked like a future stud at a position where the Warriors hadn't had one in decades. The Warriors have tried to straddle the line for a half-decade, and it has resulted in no obvious player ready to go to war with Curry and Draymond.

The Milwaukee Bucks sold everything it had for Jrue Holiday and won a title. The Denver Nuggets flipped all of their draft picks for Aaron Gordon and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and came out with a title. The Boston Celtics traded picks for Derrick White and Jrue Holiday and won. Contending teams can certainly make mistakes trying to turn draft picks into win-now help, but it's also what you do to win titles.

Stephen Curry doesn't have much time left to play at a top 10 level. The Warriors sat on their hands last summer, they didn't make a move at the trade deadline, and now have struck out this summer, in large part because they are not willing to let go of these young players they have drafted.

Does Curry want to waste the rest of his prime on a team of developing youngsters? It's a hard pill to swallow for an all-time great.

Stephen Curry's Legacy

Curry loves the Warriors' organization, and he has built a special bond with the franchise and its fans. They have achieved a lot together. Yet he also wants to play basketball games that matter, and it's very possible he will never again do that with the Warriors.

Curry has already made it clear that he doesn't want to play out the rest of his career on a lottery team. The consummate professional who always shows solidarity with the organization pulled back the curtain recently, stating that he wants to be a Warrior for life but "things change quickly" and that the reason he might not stick around is if the Warriors aren't winning.

Can Stephen Curry really go home this summer and stand in front of his trophy case, with two MVPs and four championship rings and a gold medal, and be content with longshot odds just to make the playoffs?

Will Curry go to the Warriors and ask for a trade? Probably not. Maybe not. But the reasons why he might are stacking up. And that should be a wake-up call for the Warriors.