Brian Scalabrine Asks the Steph Curry Question Hornets Fans Have Dreamed About

Stephen Curry has one more year on his contract with the Golden State Warriors, so take all of this with a grain of salt. That contract is worth over $62 million for the 2026-27 season, so the Charlotte Hornets are highly unlikely to trade for that.

That said, the Hornets have finally created a team that would be worthy of Curry, who grew up in Charlotte and is a huge Carolina Panthers fan. If he were to make a homecoming, the team would be instantly better.

There are no better floor-spacers in the NBA than Curry, but putting him alongside LaMelo Ball, Kon Knueppel, and Brandon Miller would just be unfair. Defenses would have no shot at defending the Hornets.

Because of that, former NBA player Brian Scalabrine is asking what fans have always dreamed about. What if Curry joined this Hornets squad? Would they immediately become legitimate NBA title contenders?

If Steph went to the @hornets next season would the hornets make the conference finals?
— Brian Scalabrine (@Scalabrine) March 1, 2026

The answer is probably a firm yes. It stands to reason that the Hornets could make the playoffs this year. Going into next season, having the starting five figured out, another good rookie, and growth from Knueppel, Tidjane Salaun, and others, they could be a title contender anyway.

Adding Steph Curry would put them way over the top. Of course, there is no real scenario where this happens. Golden State is going to cling to Curry until the wheels fall off. They lost Jimmy Butler for the year and still added in an attempt to get Curry the help he needs to contend.

Plus, matching salaries with Curry would be impossible without depleting the roster, which is not ideal. This Hornets team is deep, and while Curry would be nice, losing Miles Bridges, Josh Green, and Grant Williams (which works financially) would be tough to overcome.

Charlotte Hornets forward Grant Williams (2) watches as Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry | John Hefti-Imagn Images

Bridges is the least impactful starter, but he's still a useful player. Williams and Green have been incredible off the bench, being the top two in net rating (excluding Coby White and Antonio Reeves, who've played a combined 11 games).

Is an aging Curry worth that and more? Probably not, although it's fun to dream. When visiting Charlotte, Curry averages 27.2 points, 6.2 assists, and 4.3 rebounds in his career (13 games). He's shooting almost 39% from three when in Charlotte, too.

He'd be a fantastic addition that, as Scalabrine said, would take this team over the top. Maybe when he's a free agent, the Hornets can sign him. Otherwise, it's not happening.