One of the most intriguing reports to come out of the NBA trade deadline was the Golden State Warriors calling the Los Angeles Lakers to inquire about LeBron James. The Warriors were hoping for a chance to pair the 39-year-old superstar with Stephen Curry to make one final run at an NBA title before James hits free agency this summer. The Lakers, unsurprisingly, rebuffed their offers.
Of course, they checked with James before doing so, as he is perhaps the only player in the NBA who could have that significant of a say in their own trade rumors. Lakers governor Jeanie Buss spoke with James’ agent, Rich Paul, who said that James had no interest in leaving the Lakers and going to play for the Warriors. That ended a very brief trade conversation between the two teams.
But the fact that the conversation was even had was not a surprise to Curry. He spoke about his thoughts on the rumors and how he feels trade details like that should be handled within the media, via NBCS Warriors:
“No, I’m never surprised. It’s always a surprise that stuff like that gets out. Because I’m assuming that every team is making calls that if every fan or a certain fanbase or media group would know about it, it would maybe normalize the conversations that happened in the front office, especially around the trade deadline when you’re exploring around the league, who’s available and who’s not and gauging interest on that. So obviously a guy like LeBron, you would probably call just to see. I don’t know what the depths of those conversations were but that was a nice little surprise this morning, for sure.”
Teaming up Curry and James would be a recipe for success, even with both players in their mid-to-late 30s. Both remain at the top of their game and easily top 10 players in the NBA. And for the Warriors, there’s no harm in asking. Even with a slim to none chance, they remove any opportunity at landing James by not asking.
But, for now, James seems fully committed to helping the Lakers win a championship this season and potentially beyond.
After the Lakers decided to stand pat at the NBA trade deadline, some took that as a sign that James would bolt in free agency. James has a player option for the 2024-25 season and has yet to publicly commit to staying in Los Angeles past this year.
However, James’ agent Rich Paul set the record straight about where LeBron is and his commitment to the Lakers.
