Steph Curry has been in the NBA long enough to understand the business side of things, but that didn't make the Warriors' Jordan Poole-Chris Paul trade any easier for the four-time champion.
The star point guard recently broke down the timeline of the blockbuster trade from his point of view, and how things changed from Golden State's second-round playoff exit up until the trade.
"From my standpoint, it was extremely fast," Curry said on The Ringer's "NBA Show" podcast with Logan Murdock and Raja Bell. "It was pretty dead after we lost to the [Los Angeles] Lakers, watching the rest of the playoff run and the Finals, watching Denver win, then you're looking at, 'Alright, what other moves are happening around the league?' You're always keeping tabs on what's going on.
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"And so probably 10 days or so before the deal happened, you start to hear conversations of the decision tree. We're trying to sign Draymond [Green], we're trying to get some more experience in the locker room because we know we needed that to be a lot deeper team, and then the CP trade happens, and its like, 'Oh would you consider the option of playing with him?' and it's like, that makes a lot of sense in terms of connecting a lot of rotations, but what does that mean? And what that means is a tough decision with JP."
When the Warriors' title defense fell short and their rocky 2022-23 season officially came to an end, the team knew a change was needed.
For Curry, that change occurred very quickly.
"So it happened really fast in a sense of, you're reacting to what's going on in the league and what options are out there, and every team goes through a scenario where you have to plant your flag on who you are and what your identity is and what you're really investing and committing to," he said. "And for us, it was the core.
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"For us, it was trying to establish us again as a title team. And I feel like we're that, we just have to go execute it now. If it doesn't work, you make decisions going forward. that's just the nature of the NBA, it's just part of the process."
It was no secret that the team camaraderie was severely damaged ever since Green punched Poole during a preseason practice last October. Despite both players committing to put their differences aside and play basketball, the broken chemistry couldn't be repaired.
During the Lakers-Warriors series, Murdock said he remembers seeing Curry after Game 5, right before it headed back to Los Angeles. Murdock recalls asking Curry how to bridge the gap between the veteran leaders and the young guys in the locker room. Curry turned and pointed to Poole's locker and said the young guard was "the key."
The Warriors had just signed Poole to a four-year, $140 million extension. He was supposed to be their future. But in a matter of a few months, all of that changed.
"Yeah I mean it's essentially the nature of the league," Curry said. "I firmly believe that that was a true statement in that moment. His energy and his presence in the locker room was so contagious. But then there's the conversation about every team is trying to get better and put themselves in a better place. And there was a decision that needed to be made on what is the right group of guys, what's the right pieces that can fit to maximize our core. What's the right move? What's the right combination of guys that could put us in that position.
"So that was the conversation that happened over the last four weeks before the trade deadline. Tough decisions have to be made."
For now, though, Curry is focused on getting to work with his new teammate and fighting for his fifth ring in 2023-24.
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