Warriors Decided To Build Franchise Around Stephen Curry With Monta Ellis Trade

In March 2012, the Warriors' front office needed to convince Joe Lacob to approve their trade of Monta Ellis to the Bucks for Andrew Bogut.

The trade improved the Warriors' defense by bringing in Bogut, but it also made Stephen Curry their franchise player while also freeing up the second backcourt spot for Klay Thompson.

Curry was injured at the time and still had an ankle surgery ahead of him.

“I remember Kirk, my son, actually, saying Steph is the future,” Joe Lacob said. “That's when it kind of really hit me. Steph is the future. We're going to build this whole team around him. You cannot think of it any other way. That's actually the first moment that I realized we were building everything around Steph. That's the moment when it all went on Steph's shoulders.”