Warriors Bringing Back Steph Curry at All This Season is an Unnecessary Risk
By Scott Rogust
As of Sunday, the Golden State Warriors sit dead-last in the NBA standings. There are plenty of reasons why the Warriors are in this position, but the main cause are injuries. Perhaps the most devastating of them all was to Steph Curry.
The former NBA MVP suffered a broken left hand in the fourth game of the season, making the team's chances of making the NBA Finals for the sixth consecutive year nearly impossible.
Yet, a report on Sunday indicated that Curry is targeting a return on March 1. Why?
Steph Curry is targeting March 1 for his return, per @ThompsonScribe ?
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 19, 2020
Warriors superstar has only played four games this year after breaking his hand in October. pic.twitter.com/oyaSgkQeyf
Sitting at 10-34, the Warriors have very little to play for. Given how far back they sit in the standings and how tough the Western Conference is, Curry's return isn't going to help them make a push for a playoff berth.
Not to mention, he won't have fellow "Splash Brother" Klay Thompson to feed off of this season, who sits out with a torn ACL.
Additionally, the Warriors are the favorites to land the first overall pick in the upcoming NBA Draft. That alone gives them the right to select young studs like James Wiseman or Anthony Edwards. Selecting either one of them will help Golden State's chances to compete next season.
James Wiseman, who the Warriors could target at the top of the NBA draft, has withdrawn from Memphis ? https://t.co/KTkY846Ax4 pic.twitter.com/beYf0WJhB1
— Warriors on NBCS (@NBCSWarriors) December 19, 2019
Why sacrifice that?
Perhaps the largest concern is that Curry could put himself at risk for another injury. Given that he's being paid $88 million for the next two years, Golden State should be cautious and implore Curry to sit out for the remainder of this season, for the betterment of himself and the team.