Around last February’s trade deadline, with the Lakers and Warriors both unimpressively fighting for a spot at the bottom of the play-in, rumors of the Warriors trying to trade for LeBron James to pair with Stephen Curry bubbled up. However, they never really gained any traction, they never felt all that serious.
That’s because LeBron’s agent Rich Paul quashed them, reports Marc Stein in his latest Substack newsletter.
It is believed that the Lakers would have reluctantly entertained trade conversations with the Warriors before last February’s trade deadline if James wanted them to seriously engage Golden State on a potential deal. Yet league sources say that the reported talks between the teams at the time never got that far in large part because James’ agent Rich Paul was adamantly opposed to the idea of LeBron James swapping Southern California for Northern California. Sources say Rich Paul implored both teams to scrap the concept — despite some owner-to-owner dialogue between the Warriors’ Joe Lacob and the Lakers’ Jeanie Buss and Green’s determination to lobby James to push for relocation to the Bay Area — largely because he wanted to insulate James from potential backlash over switching teams for the fourth time in his career.
Take all summer rumors like this with a grain of salt — it’s never that simple, never that clean, and usually a mix of reality and wishful thinking. That said, Rich Paul’s opposition to a move (unless LeBron was adamant) makes sense, Paul is thinking about LeBron’s legacy.
Fans dreaming of and talking about LeBron and Curry teaming up heated up after the Paris Olympics when their pairing was dynamic and led the USA to gold. It’s also just not going to happen. LeBron is settled in Los Angeles with his family and, after signing a contract extension this summer, is set to finish his career with the Lakers. Curry has made it clear he intends to end his career with the Warriors. If, during this season, LeBron starts to dream of teaming up with Curry again, his agent and friend Paul can step in and remind him of the reaction their fellow Olympian Kevin Durant got from the same move.
That will leave both the Warriors and the Lakers going into this season looking to make a bold move that can once again make them serious title contenders, both looking for options and disgruntled superstars.
