Stephen Curry – photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Matteo Venieri
venam@bu.edu
“This kid is the perfect fit for us.” Walking up and down the meeting room inside the Madison Square Garden, Donnie Walsh wants to make sure everybody in the Knicks front office is on the same page. In the months and weeks that preceded the 2009 NBA Draft, of all the players in the mix, he had zeroed in on Wardell Stephen Curry. In December, Walsh had personally scouted when Davidson played West Virginia at the Garden. It didn’t matter that the skinny player had missed 12 of his first 13 three-pointers. Walsh knew that Curry’s special skillset could change the destiny of his moribund franchise.
Other rival executives have a similar idea and the Knicks fear that the chances of the Davidson product falling to No. 8 are slim. The player offers the general manager the first of the many assists he hopes to dish in orange and blue. His agent Jeff Austin lets Walsh know that his client would love to play in New York, and at the same time he gives the cold shoulder to the other suitors. The Warriors suffer the most brutal diss: all their requests for a visit or a workout are unceremoniously returned to sender.
Like many others in the league, Curry sees Golden State as a highly dysfunctional franchise, especially since it’s had only one playoff appearance since 1994. But Curry also knows that he can thrive playing in Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo system in New York. Doing so from the center of the known universe instead than in the Arizona desert is just icing on the cake.
The day before the draft, Walsh one-ups the Timberwolves’ trade proposal and acquires the No. 5 pick from the Wizards in exchange for two first round picks. On June 25, while the New York media sharpen their pitchfork during draft night – a city tradition – Commissioner David Stern shakes Curry’s hand and gives him a Knicks hat. With their main target off the board, the Warriors decide to fall back on their plan b, DeMar DeRozan.
D’Antoni gives Curry the keys of the team right away, putting him on the floor along with a solid starting five of Chandler, Gallinari, Harrington and Lee. The team finishes 41-41 and barely misses the playoffs, but brings back the excitement inside the Mecca, with Spike Lee always rocking a Curry jersey at every home game.
After a promising rookie season, Curry, however, goes through a slump in his sophomore year. Multiple ankle sprains, along with the growing mistrust coming from the organization, limit his development. Knicks owner James Dolan doesn’t even try to hide his frustration. “We made a colossal mistake drafting him,” he screams to Walsh during a meeting with other team executives. “And on top of that, we also missed out on the chance to trade for Carmelo Anthony. And you know how much I love Carmelo. Fix this mess, Donnie.”
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, the Warriors have hit rock bottom. With Oracle Arena on its last legs and the other side of the Bay not interested in associating itself with the franchise, the team is for sale. An ownership group led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer outbids an uninspired Lacob-Gruber group, and moves the team away from California. The Seattle Supersonics are officially back.
Among the players following the franchise to the northwest is 23-year-old Jeremy Lin. Despite a lukewarm rookie season, the team promotes him to starting point guard without any better options, opening the door to the global phenomenon known as Linsanity.
Back in the Big Apple, it’s time for some tough decisions. Notwithstanding his potential, Walsh is forced to get rid of a hobbled Curry and his expiring contract, even if it means trading him for cents on the dollar. Hours before the trade deadline of February 2012, the president of the Knicks pulls the trigger and sends the player to the Milwaukee Bucks – a franchise that, with very little to lose, doesn’t appear to be frightened to acquire a player with bad wheels.
Their regret is almost immediate. Just one month after the trade, Curry tweaks the same ankle again and is forced to undergo right leg surgery for the second time in less than a year. Reading the news in his office inside the Garden, Walsh sighs silently, while Dolan bursts out laughing. “I knew it,” he says. “I’m so happy I sent that bust to the Bucks. And I have a feeling that this Larry Sanders kid is going to be a star…”
The Bucks ease Curry back on the floor and they are rewarded with a solid comeback season in 2013. He ends up ends winning the Most Improved Player award. That same year also marks the rookie season of Giannis Antetokounmpo, a player that the head-scratching fanbase can only define as “a Greek kid with an impossible name.”
The following year, Milwaukee fires Larry Drew after a disappointing 32-50 season and starts looking for a new coach. The Bucks’ bench isn’t quite the most coveted job of the league, but for Steve Kerr this is the opportunity he was waiting for. Kerr had his eyes on Curry from his days as the president and GM of the Suns, when he had hoped to bring him in Phoenix to substitute for an aging Steve Nash.
With Popovich’s protégé on the bench, the Bucks become a war machine. Curry blossoms into a lethal sharpshooter who breaks all sorts of record for three-point shots made and wins the league MVP in 2015. While in the paint, the Greek Freak begins to assert his total dominance. As Milwaukee’s record improves every year, they keep adding key pieces to the formidable duo. Marcus Smart is drafted to solidify the defense in the backcourt, Khris Middleton re-signs a multi-year deal and there’s still enough cap space to bring solid free agents like Brook Lopez and Lou Williams to Wisconsin.
At the end of the 2015-16 season, the No.2 seed Bucks defeat ‘Melo’s Bulls in the semifinal and then upset LeBron’s Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals, but eventually lose the Finals 4-3 against the Oklahoma City Thunder. The appointment with the Larry O’Brien Trophy is merely postponed for one year. The following season, the Bucks are in cruise control: they come four games shy of surpassing the ’96 Bulls’ record for regular season wins and in the Finals they defeat OKC for their first title since 1971.
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