Stephen Curry Was Almost Traded To Milwaukee 😳

Before Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry was three-time NBA champion and back-to-back Most Valuable Player Stephen Curry, he was a rising star with a knack for shooting. Paired with guard Monta Ellis, Golden State was not sure if Curry would be the piece they would build around due to his frequent injuries.

Over his first three NBA seasons, Curry failed to average over 20.0 points per game and his 2011-12 had himself playing in 26 games due to ankles injuries. Golden State feared Curry would go through his career as an injury-prone player and almost traded him away in 2011-12. Yes, the now record-breaking three-point shooter was almost traded, and he would have become a star elsewhere.

A star in Milwaukee.

According to Bucks owner Marc Lasry, the team’s medical staff didn’t think Curry’s ankle injuries were a good long-term gamble, so they declined a trade proposed to them for center Andrew Bogut. Curry could have been a Milwaukee Buck if the medical staff didn’t have its worries. Curry and Bogut would eventually become teammates in Golden State where they won a championship together in 2015.

It's good to be #Bucks owner Marc Lasry, who has a lot of fun talking basketball while jetting to games and seeing Giannis Antetokounmpo become a superstar, writes @TheFrankIsola. https://t.co/4tQNnvee7W #NBA #NBAExtra #NBATwitter

— The Athletic (@TheAthleticWISC) January 15, 2019

Per The Athletic:

Lasry sees the Golden State Warriors as a model franchise, although he did chuckle when Warriors owner Joe Lacob told New York Times Magazine three years ago that the organization is “light years ahead” of the other 29 teams.

“I don’t know if they can be light years ahead if they traded Steph Curry to the Bucks for Andrew Bogut,” Lasry says of a proposed trade before he purchased the Bucks, which has been reported as both fact and urban legend. “That was the deal. But the Bucks’ medical staff didn’t think Steph’s ankle would hold up. That killed the deal. So, I don’t know if that’s being light years. It’s luck. And that’s fine.”

Lasry then smiled and added, “I think we got rid of that medical staff when we bought the team.”

Curry could have become a star in Milwaukee and it would have changed the NBA forever. The Bucks could have been the next great franchise, Giannis Antetokounmpo would be dominating elsewhere, and a different superteam could have formed.

Oh, and don’t forget… if the trade were to go down, the Warriors would have never blown their 3-1 lead to the Cavaliers in 2016. It’s easy to say Milwaukee messed up and Golden State is lucky to have Curry.