Nevius: Why add Stephen Curry to this lost Warriors season?

The calendar says the last game of the Warriors’ schedule is Tax Day, April 15. But the season has been over for nearly a month.

It ended back in early February, when general manager Bob Myers - with the full approval of this corner - began to deal warm bodies for empty jerseys, meaning draft choices.

It was when we entered the world of the 10-day contract and a daily Google search of the latest guy the team just signed from the G League.

Thursday night, against the Lakers, we press-box pundits located eight players in uniform - two counting down their 10-day contracts. After a 40-17 third quarter, that group lost to LA by 30.

So, naturally, there is only one thing to do - throw multiple MVP Steph Curry into this mudball.

This raises a question.

Why?

What is it going to accomplish? There was talk on the TNT broadcast of “how badly the Warriors need Curry,” but for what? They can’t see the playoffs with a telescope. The most cynical among us would say the worst thing they can do is win enough games to fall out of prime draft lottery position.

There has been something fishy about the Curry return all along. What are we to make of comments by Steve Kerr that “it was a surprise” to hear that Curry was considering coming back Sunday?

Or when he said, “It’s not official. That’s when he wants to play. It’s a target, not set in stone.”

Sounds like the Curry brain trust was making this call.

On Saturday, the team said Curry would not return Sunday after all but would scrimmage with the G-League Santa Cruz team on Monday and is still expected to return sometime in March.

Kerr said he felt Curry needed the additional scrimmages, but then undercut the point by laughing about the “roster” for scrimmages last week. They used assistant coach Theo Robertson, a former Cal great, and “some friend of Klay’s.”

The point is, if Curry was supposed to get a tough, NBA-style test, that wasn’t it.

By the way, the season does not get any easier. After Sunday evening’s game against Washington, there are 21 left - 11 at home, 10 away. Of those 21, 12 opponents should realistically make the playoffs. It’s Toronto twice, the Lakers twice, the Clippers twice, Milwaukee, Houston, Philadelphia and more.

It was no fun watching the Lakers put a beat-down on the Warriors last week. There is a strong possibility of more of that to come. And if you think Curry is going to turn it around, we wish you the best.

Also, and let’s just go right ahead and bring up an uncomfortable topic - the Kevin Durant model. The debate rages on about whether Durant should or should not have been playing in the 2019 NBA Finals. But the fact is he left his Achilles on the floor in Game 5.

If Curry comes back and gets hurt - say one of his notoriously turnable ankles - there will be legitimate questions about whether the Warriors are medically protecting their players. And as you think about trying to woo elite players, that is not a reputation you want.

And let’s don’t pretend this has all been a crazy coincidence that no one saw coming. This is a strategy.

We will all think of the Feb. 6 trade as the day D’Angelo Russell went to Minnesota for Andrew Wiggins, but there were other moving pieces. Included with Russell was former first-round draft choice Jacob Evans and Omari Spellman. They came in exchange for first- and second-round draft choices next year. That’s two players gone for draft choices.

And, at virtually the same time, the Warriors traded Alec Burks and Glenn Robinson III to Philadelphia for three second-round draft picks. That’s two more players gone with no one ?replacing them.

“It’s a lot different here than it was a month ago,” a Warrior said after the Lakers game.

Four warm bodies leveraged for draft choices. And talk about a coincidence, after those Feb. 6 deals the team went on an eight-game losing streak.

But it does say a couple of things. The Warriors may be smart, but they aren’t sentimental. Burks and Robinson - useful players and popular - are reminders that you may buy into the Warriors’ culture, but the culture may not buy into you.

As for the people who say Curry “owes it to the fans” to play again this year, nonsense. He led them to FIVE consecutive NBA Finals. Are you not entertained?

This will all work out in one way or another. If Curry wants to play, OK, but this corner says he isn’t letting anyone down if he decides not to. It isn’t as if he’s going to be rusty for next year. He’ll be playing in the Olympics on an international stage.

And if the Warriors really think he’d be a worthwhile addition to an empty roster with the worst record in basketball, we know their justification.

Kerr has said it more than once. Curry, he’s said, could get hurt in any game.

True. You would just hope it was one that meant something.

Contact C.W. Nevius at cw.nevius@pressdemocrat.com. Twitter: @cwnevius