TORONTO — With the trade deadline just over three weeks away, Golden State star guard Stephen Curry wants to see the slumping Warriors get better but not at the expense of making a “desperate” move that would “deplete the future” for the franchise.
The Warriors fell under .500 for the first time all season with a 104-101 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena on Monday. Since a 12-3 start, the Warriors have lost 17 of 24 games and now stand at 19-20.
Still, Curry doesn’t want to see panic. And he echoed a sentiment that general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr., coach Steve Kerr and star forward Draymond Green have been saying since training camp started in Hawaii: The Warriors should not make any rash decisions in trades, especially if they have to surrender young players or draft picks.
“Desperate trades or desperate moves that deplete the future, there is a responsibility on allowing or keeping the franchise in a good space and good spot when it comes to where we leave this thing when we’re done,” Curry said. “Doesn’t mean that you’re not trying to get better. It doesn’t mean that you’re not active in any type of search to, if you have an opportunity where a trade makes sense or even in the summer free agency [move] makes sense. You want to continue to get better.
“Nobody wants to be stale or be in a situation where you’re passing up opportunities. But it doesn’t mean that you’re desperate just flinging assets all around the place just because you want to do something.”
The franchise centerpiece said this in response to Green telling Yahoo Sports that he, Kerr and Curry are in lockstep with the thinking that the team should not mortgage its future and make a potential bad trade.
“Mike understands we want to win,” Curry said. “We want to be in that position where we’ve always said that you want to be relevant in the championship type of chase. While we understand we’re getting older and deeper into our careers and allowing some of the young guys to kind of blossom, it doesn’t mean you’re getting desperate.”
Kerr, Dunleavy, Curry and Green have been preaching patience since camp and wanting to see what this roster can do. But that patience is being tested almost nightly. The latest stinging loss comes to a Raptors squad that is now 9-31.
The Warriors were short-handed Monday without Green (illness/back), Jonathan Kuminga (ankle), Gary Payton II (calf) and Brandin Podziemski (abdomen). Still, Golden State was up by nine points with 9:27 remaining. The Warriors were hanging on to a 101-98 lead with 2:34 left, but they failed to score again.
Golden State missed its final five shots, including three 3-point attempts in the last 44.7 seconds from Curry, Andrew Wiggins and Buddy Hield. Hield’s contested 29-footer at the buzzer fell short and skimmed the net.
Meanwhile, onetime Warrior Chris Boucher scored 17 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter for Toronto.
Afterward, a frustrated Kerr pointed the finger at himself.
“Just didn’t get good looks, didn’t execute very well, weren’t disciplined enough, and that’s my fault,” Kerr said. “I’m the coach of the team. I have to find a way to help this team. And I’m not doing a good job of that.
“This is as frustrating a night as we’ve had all season for me.”
Curry finished with 26 points, 7 assists and 7 rebounds, but Toronto kept the all-time 3-point leader from touching the ball on the final play.
The guard has been frustrated at times this season. He acknowledged that the team was “mid” with its average play earlier during this slump. Curry, Green and Kerr have tried a variety of approaches to snap out of the funk, from Curry and Green talking to the players to Kerr starting 22 different lineups this season.
Golden State will head to Minneapolis next looking to get back to .500 with a win versus the Timberwolves on Wednesday.
“It sucks!” Kerr said. “It sucks. I don’t like falling below .500. But here we are, so we got to do better.”
