Stephen Curry is arguably the greatest Golden State Warriors player of all time after collecting many individual and collective awards. The talented point guard has done everything to lead his team to the promised land three times and is ready to do it again this campaign.
However, this great story could have been very different if the Warriors carried out their initial plans in 2012. Back in the day, Monta Ellis left the Dubs via trade, joining the Milwaukee Bucks.
Meanwhile, Steph would become a superstar in the league, changing the game of basketball while leading the Warriors to the multiple championships. During a recent interview with Draymond Green, the Chef revealed that he could have been included in that trade, but then Warriors coach Mark Jackson prevented him from joining the Bucks.
Via NBC Sports:
“The doctor part, I can’t put a name to it, but I know that was part of the conversation because it all happened at once for me,” Curry said. “I knew exactly where we were, we were in Sacramento. It was the lockout year so it was right at the trade deadline. We get to the arena, walk in the locker room. I was on the first bus, Monta usually comes on the second bus.
“I get in the locker room, I’m getting tape, getting ready to play and you see across the ticker on the TV in the locker room like breaking news ‘NBA trade: Warriors trade Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and somebody else for Andrew Bogut.’ That’s how we found out, we were in the locker room like ‘what? what’s going on?'”
“So Monta shows up, he just got off the phone with his agent, his agent just called him — and this is maybe an hour and a half before the game, two hours,” Curry added. “So then he’s kind of like emotional but resolute like ‘this is happening, forget y’all.’ Not the team but the organization in terms of … he was the true, ultimate Warriors, he was a fan-favorite, deservedly so … So it was a tough blow for all of Dub Nation, it wasn’t really received well.”
After that moment, Mark Jackson explained to Steph what was the plan for him.
“So that’s how it went down, everybody kind of said their goodbyes to Monta, Ekpe and they left,” Curry recalled. “Then coach Jackson pulled me out of the locker room and he’s like ‘yo, I just have to let you know, they wanted you in the trade’ but for whatever reason, it didn’t go down like that. He said ‘I kind of stepped in too … I’m going to give you the keys. We really believe in you, we just have to get you healthy and that’s what the rest of the season is going to be about.’ His line was ‘don’t make me a liar.’
“That was when the trade happened and oh, by the way, that could have been you all at the same time. Crazy, crazy day, I’ll never forget that moment. It definitely set the tone for what the next chapter is about to be.”
Ever since that moment, Curry only improved his level, becoming the big legend he is right now. A lot has been said about Monta’s desire to play over Curry, but Jackson had a vision for Steph, not him. In the end, this decision paid off for everybody. The Warriors dominated the NBA from 2015 through 2019, going to five consecutive NBA Finals, winning three titles in the process.
We’ll never know if Curry would have had the chance to play alongside Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee, but that duo would have been incredible to watch.
