Former MVPs and All-NBA stars have been constantly linked with the Golden State Warriors. The Dub Nation’s search to complement their superstar Stephen Curry has so far produced no results. That urgency has sharpened after Steve Kerr, fresh off signing a new two-year contract extension that keeps him as the NBA’s highest-paid coach, held direct talks with owner Joe Lacob and GM Mike Dunleavy covering offensive philosophy, roster construction, and staffing. Former assistant coach who spent two seasons in the Bay Area, and has since departed the Warriors’ staff, Jerry Stackhouse provides a controversial opinion.

“But I think it’s really about the health; everything is so Steph-centric,” Stackhouse said on Run It Back. “And when he’s not in the picture, it kind of throws everything for a loop. I think that the challenge for the Warriors going forward is to try to find a way to not put a heavy tax on Steph and even Draymond at this point of his career and try to find other people that they can play through and can be more of the, and allow these guys to kind of transition to more secondary players. And I know that sounds crazy that you ever think of, you know, Steph Curry as a secondary player. Find a way for him to be a complement and not be the guy that folks are solely depending on.”

Stackhouse’s perspective carries specific weight because of when it lands. ESPN reported that Warriors management pushed Kerr to make “philosophy tweaks” as a condition of his return, specifically diversifying the offensive attack and reducing Golden State’s reliance on three-point variance, which ranked 27th in turnover rate this season.

Stackhouse’s critique, in that sense, is not detached from Kerr’s situation; it directly mirrors what the front office has already demanded of him. Ever since being the 1A option for the Warriors, Stephen Curry has always had pieces to complement him, be it the addition of Kevin Durant or the role evolution of Klay Thompson and Draymond Green over the years.

Stackhouse, having been inside the building, saw the toll first-hand when Curry was absent from the lineup.

Curry sustained a hamstring injury during Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2025. It effectively halted his momentum and compromised the Warriors’ depth, who lost the next 4 games to end the series 1-4.

Even this year, he missed the 2026 NBA All-Star Game and was sidelined for over two consecutive months (more than 25 games). He managed to return only at the very tail-end of the regular season in April. Clear signs of the franchise needing to reduce his burden.

Those absences left a squad that finished 37-45, missed the playoffs entirely, and was eliminated by the Phoenix Suns in the play-in tournament, a painful showing of how structurally dependent the franchise has become on one player.

The 18-year veteran Stackhouse also stated that Steph is “going to be 39 this year and Father Time’s undefeated.”

That’s why he suggested trading for proven Finals MVPs, LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard, as a possible solution.

“So, got to go out, and I’ve been hearing Kawhi, you’ve been hearing LeBron, getting a piece like that can rejuvenate everybody and can fill in the gaps on those times.”

These are not idle names. Golden State made a “determined trade run” at Kawhi Leonard before the February 2026 deadline, a push that came close to completion before Clippers owner Steve Ballmer intervened.

The Warriors are widely expected to pursue Leonard again this summer, with ESPN’s Bobby Marks floating a package centered on Jimmy Butler’s expiring contract, a lottery-protected 2027 first-round pick, and a 2032 first-round pick.

On Leonard’s end, Draymond Green publicly questioned whether the Clippers, who hold the fifth pick in the 2026 draft, would choose to rebuild around a 35-year-old rather than trade him for assets.

The LeBron scenario operates through a different mechanism. James enters unrestricted free agency at 41, and multiple reports indicate the Warriors could offer him the $15 million mid-level exception, a path that would not require dismantling the core.

James has previously stated his desire to play with Curry, the two having built a relationship through Team USA.

His friendship with Draymond Green and documented respect for Kerr, whom he worked under at the Paris Olympics, make the cultural fit unusually clean.

The complication is financial: Draymond Green would need to opt out of his $27.7 million player option and accept a reduced salary to create the necessary cap flexibility.

Unlike Stephen Curry, whose severe right knee bone bruising completely limited him to a career-low 43 games. Both LeBron and Kawhi successfully delivered highly productive regular-season minutes.

Leonard played in 65 games and produced 27.9 points (6th in the NBA) with 6.4 rebounds on 50.5 FG%. Despite being 41, James had another All-Star-level season with 20.9 points, 7.2 assists (7th in the NBA), and 6.1 rebounds while battling ankle soreness and right-side sciatica issues.

The Warriors added Jimmy Butler for this exact reason, and they also added veterans and other former champions to the roster. But that gamble hasn’t paid off well.

Stackhouse calls for clearing the house for Stephen Curry

The Warriors’ grand vision of a Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler superstar pairing has been utterly dismantled by a brutal sequence of overlapping injuries over the last two seasons. Butler’s ACL injury and Curry’s knee issues, there is no guarantee that the two superstars will continue to have a healthy postseason run together.

“Because Jimmy’s not going to be a part of the picture,” said Stackhouse. “I think even if he comes back, you know, he’s going to be on minutes restrictions. The other guy, the guys like Horford and Porzingis, the guys that he brought in at the trade deadline, those guys were in and out of the lineup. So it’s like you got to find some consistency there. And I think that’s going to be a challenge for the Warriors.”

Porzingis, who was acquired at the February deadline, appeared in just 15 games because of his injuries. Even Al Horford, who was contemplating retirement before his move to the Warriors, seems unlikely to return. The former champion holds a $6 million player option, but he will turn 42 in December and has also missed significant time.

Both are unlikely to return, adding to a roster that already projects to start 2026-27 shorthanded, with Butler and Moses Moody both rehabbing serious knee injuries expected to keep them sidelined into the new year.

Kerr’s return, confirmed on a two-year deal in May, signals that Golden State has chosen continuity over full rebuilding.

But continuity without structural change is precisely what Stackhouse is cautioning against. The front office has conditioned its commitment on Kerr diversifying the offense and reducing the team’s overdependence on three-point variance – adjustments that are functionally impossible without the kind of star talent that can draw defensive attention independent of Curry.

Adding James or Leonard would not just solve an injury problem; it would give Kerr the personnel framework to actually execute the philosophical shift that ownership demands.

James and Leonard can each serve as the primary option when called upon, redistributing the offensive burden that has worn Curry down, and giving Kerr the roster depth to enforce the system changes the Warriors’ front office has already made a condition of his stay.