The Golden State Warriors made several attempts to pair LeBron James with Stephen Curry before the NBA trade deadline, according to a new report from ESPN. The story from Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne detailed multiple inquiries from Warriors owner Joe Lacob and Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr.
After prompting from Draymond Green, Lacob reached out to Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and asked if James was available via trade, according to the report. After telling Lacob that the Lakers weren't interested in a trade, Buss reportedly gave Lacob the green light to ask James' agent Rich Paul for a definite answer on his interest in the trade.
Paul, who also represents Green under the Klutch Sports agency, told the Warriors that James wanted to stay with the Lakers, the report said. Paul made a similar statement publicly in early February saying "LeBron won't be traded" amid rumors that James was unhappy and looking to join another team. Still, Dunleavy reportedly reached out to Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka to ask once again if the Lakers would consider a trade before the deadline.
The news comes at an interesting time for both the Lakers and Warriors.
James' frustration with the way the Lakers have performed since winning the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament in December has been palpable. Multiple players on the team had been mentioned in trade rumors and Buss had to assuage rumors about Darvin Ham's job security after reports that the head coach was losing the locker room. The Lakers sit ninth in the Western Conference standings and James has a $51.4 million player option that he can decline this summer if he decides the Lakers are no longer a good fit.
The Warriors sit 10th in the standings and have struggled to find any rhythm this season between Green's suspension for punching Jusuf Nurkic and public comments from players like Jonathan Kuminga about his own playing time. Klay Thompson, who is an unrestricted free agent, has openly pondered his future with the team beyond this season. The Warriors also dealt with the tragic passing of assistant head coach Dejan Milojevic, who died of a sudden heart attack in January.
The two historic franchises, who played against each other in the playoffs last season, are both 50-1 to win the NBA Finals, according to FanDuel and appear to be in the dreaded middle of the NBA with aging superstars and massive roster bills — the Warriors lead the NBA with a $208.6 million team payroll and the Lakers have the eighth-highest payroll at $169.7 million.
While the latest trade attempts did not go through, this could set up an interesting offseason for both sides.
