MINNEAPOLIS — In the 36 hours following Steph Curry’s postgame comments in Toronto — backing up Draymond Green’s and Steve Kerr’s assertion that the Warriors’ front office shouldn’t mortgage the future to maximize their present — the national discourse about the fading state of the organization was fierce.
The surfacing narrative that bothered Kerr and Curry, an under-the-radar avid consumer of Internet content, was the surrender topic. Some people interpreted it as Kerr and Curry waving the white flag on this season and perhaps even the competitive portion of his time with the Warriors and in the NBA. Had they given up?
Despite denying it as added fuel, there was an extra level of obvious motivation in Curry’s game and focus within the Warriors to close out a tiring road trip on Thursday night. He came out forceful, hitting four first-quarter 3s, and the depleted roster around him defended with a level of aggression that has been rare lately.
It resulted in a 26-5 lead after nine minutes, a 24-point first-half cushion and enough oomph to putter them past the finish line down the stretch, beating the Timberwolves, 116-115, handling a frontline of Anthony Edwards, Rudy Gobert, Naz Reid and Julius Randle despite missing Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga and Kyle Anderson.
“I hope there’s not a misconception that we are not fighting and scrapping and doing everything possible to keep this going,” Kerr said. “It almost feels like the narrative became the Warriors are giving in. We are not giving in. We’re just not gonna give away the future. Those are two totally different things. We’re fighting.”
Curry hit two of the biggest 3s down the stretch. His seventh of the night broke a 108-108 tie with 47 seconds left. He finished with 31 points, sealing it with two free throws with 6.1 seconds left. Then he went on SportsCenter directly after the game courtside and started taking subtle jabs.
“All the Twitter fingers who got deals that we need to make can kind of shut up and let us figure this thing out,” Curry told the broadcast.
Curry has been understanding of Mike Dunleavy and the Warriors front office’s unwillingness to overpay. He was involved in the Paul George and Lauri Markkanen discussions this summer. He is debriefed in far greater detail than the public about what is and isn’t currently available on the trade market. He gave a green light on the Dennis Schröder deal in December.
Curry still craves some extra rotation help before the Feb. 6 trade deadline. He also seems to know that it won’t likely come in the form of a legitimate second star scorer who could push this team into true contention and is comfortable with the front office’s current approach, considering he’s aware of their inner workings.
“Anyone who thinks I’m OK being on an average basketball team is insane,” Curry said. “Take whatever I said, I still stand on it. But that doesn’t mean we’re not in a situation where we are trying to get better, make appropriate moves that help you do that. Mike knows that. We’ve talked about it. That’s the expectation from me. It doesn’t mean you’re reckless. What people’s definition of that is is what I was talking about with Twitter fingers. Trade machines are fun. But what does that actually look like? We’re gonna handle our business. Mike is gonna handle his. We will see where we end up.”
Steph Curry: “Anyone who thinks I’m OK being on an average basketball team is insane.”
Here’s Curry on his comments the other night and the national reaction to it pic.twitter.com/XhGwsWp5RY
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 16, 2025
Curry received the requisite help in the Warriors’ third win this season over the Timberwolves. Without their three power forwards, Kerr started Gui Santos in that slot. Santos brought a ton of energy to open the game, hitting an open 3 and getting a handful of extra possessions during that hot start.
Moses Moody played behind him at the power forward slot, even guarding Rudy Gobert for stretches. Moody received 25 minutes, near his season-high, and was productive, making three big 3s and handling the physical nature of his interior assignment.
Buddy Hield had his best game in a while. He scored 18 points off the bench and hit three fourth-quarter free throws that kept their head above water as the Timberwolves were roaring back. Gary Payton II returned from a 10-game absence and spent a chunk of the game guarding Anthony Edwards. He also made a free throw in the closing seconds and missed the second, which was tip-rebounded by Kevon Looney, who combined with Trayce Jackson-Davis for 10 offensive rebounds.
“Really nice to see them get rewarded,” Kerr said.
But Andrew Wiggins was the second-most important performer. Without Kuminga, he is needed to up his scoring and aggression, handling a second scorer role next to Curry that he might not be equipped for any more on a nightly basis. But against the Timberwolves, he attacked the rim, challenged their shot blockers and utilized the whistle-happy officials. Wiggins finished with 24 points, including 10 made free throws.
“With Draymond missing the last two games, that scoring bump does help,” Curry said. “We’ve been struggling to get over that 100 mark a couple games. When he’s aggressive looking to score, it helps us.”
But his big night can’t be credited to the boiling discourse about this existential moment for the Warriors (which could mean his inclusion in a trade). Wiggins didn’t see any of it.
“Never seen anything,” he said. “What happened? Man, I go home or go to my room, watch my TV shows and just chill. I don’t be looking at too much.”
Andrew Wiggins wasn’t exactly locked into the existential discourse around the Warriors: “Never seen anything. What happened?” pic.twitter.com/HwHloJ7aNd
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 16, 2025
But does he feel the growing pressure of these fading Curry years?
“You want to win,” Wiggins said. “I feel like we have the roster to do it. We have Steph Curry. Steph Curry is who he is. One of the greatest people, players to ever touch a basketball. We just gotta keep playing hard. We started off 12-3. We know what we’re capable of. We just gotta get back to it.”
Another sign of the rising urgency: Kerr played Curry a season-high 37 minutes. He’s spent most of the season limiting Curry to around 32 and doesn’t like to stretch it beyond 34.
“I hate that his minutes are creeping up,” Kerr said. “I don’t like it. But we gotta do what we gotta do. Hopefully, as we get reinforcements back, we can get him back to that 32 range.”
The Warriors also have two days off before beginning a long stretch in California on Saturday night against the league-worst 6-32 Wizards. Eight of their next nine games are at home and the only road game is in Sacramento, presenting a vital portion of the schedule for them to gain traction (or not) prior to the trade deadline.
Steve Kerr: “I hope there’s not a misconception that we are not fighting and scrapping and doing everything possible to keep this going. It almost feels like the narrative became the Warriors are giving in. We are not giving in. We’re just not gonna give away the future.” pic.twitter.com/8OjjrVlRwm
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) January 16, 2025
(Photo of Steph Curry: David Sherman / NBAE via Getty Images)
