Sacramento Kings' rival may lose their franchise icon this season

Since they share a home state (California) and played an epic first round series during the 2023 NBA Playoffs (and a lopsided play-in game in 2024), it is fair to consider the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings to be rivals.

As is true with any rivalry, you want to beat your competitor fair and square. But you also don't mind it when said adversary takes a hit. And on Saturday, the Kings (along with the rest of the basketball world) found out that the Warriors could receive an Earth-shaking trade request this season.

Bleacher Report NBA Insider Chris Haynes mentioned that Stephen Curry – four-time NBA Champion and two-time MVP – is closely monitoring the Warriors' current situation and that he may want to request a trade from the only franchise he's ever known ahead of the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline.

The reason that he may want to leave his home of the last 15 years is that Curry wants, as the tweet included above suggests, another true chance at competing for an NBA title.

To their credit, the Warriors have done a solid job of re-tooling their roster after the loss of another franchise icon, Klay Thompson – adding solid role players like De'Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield, and Kyle Anderson. Given those additions, Curry, Draymond Green, and their blend of young talent, that's a pretty nice squad. But in a loaded Western Conference, that hardly guarantees you a playoff spot, let alone a chance at competing for the title. So, unless the Warriors make another big move (like trade for Lauri Markkanen), they probably won't have a serious chance of making a deep run.

One Less Problem For the Kings To Worry About

The Kings had a nice offseason, but they still have teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Memphis Grizzlies to deal with out West.

Many people agree that the Kings have a stronger roster than the Warriors.* But still, it would be nice (for Sacramento, at least) if Curry forced the Warriors' hand and pushed them to a rebuild a few years earlier than they would have originally liked.

(*Sidenote: Earlier this offseason, I ran a poll asking which team – the Warriors or Kings – would win more games next season. Of the 112 people that voted, nearly 85% said they believed it would be the Kings.)