Warriors attempted to trade for LeBron at Trade Deadline
Image by The Wall Street Journal
Whenever a player of Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James’ caliber is rumored to be traded, there will be plenty of media coverage and opinions about possible trade options. However, reports from NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski suggest that the Golden State Warriors offered for the 20-time NBA All-Star.
This would have been a strange, but incredible duo created with Warriors guard Stephen Curry. The two played against each other for three straight years in the NBA Finals, creating a rivalry dating back to the years that James played for the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Warriors bested the Cavaliers in these matchups going 2-1 over these years, however, these three years provided NBA fans with some of the greatest moments in NBA history.
In terms of a possible trade, there were a couple of influences from the Warriors organization with the recruitment of James. The process started at the top with Warriors owner Joe Lacob and Lakers owner Jeanie Buss. According to Wojnarowski, Lacob asked, “whether James' apparent public frustration could be interpreted as an opening to discuss a trade”. Wojnarowski reports that Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul stated that “Buss told Lacob the Lakers had no desire to trade James, but that he would need to seek the answer on James' state of mind from his agent”.
Another name that stood out was Warriors forward Draymond Green. Green is a famous recruiter in the NBA due to the influence he had on Kevin Durant’s recruitment to the Warriors in 2016. Not much from the report is stated about how much influence Green had, so this is mostly up to speculation.
There is no word yet about what the offer included for the four-time MVP. Even at 39 years of age, the package for James would have still been very high as James appears to still be playing at an elite level. It most likely would’ve featured two or three first-round draft picks and different combinations of players such as Chris Paul, Andrew Wiggins, or Klay Thompson. Another name that was rumored to be in the mix would’ve been Jonathan Kuminga.
Believe it or not, the report also stated that this was not the first offer for James, as the Philadelphia 76ers offered as well. 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey is famous for “swinging for the fences” with trades, so it’s no surprise that he would reach out when the James trade rumors began. However, the report states that Lakers General Manager Rob Pelinka asked about the availability of 76ers center Joel Embiid, which ended their conversation.
The Warriors’ and 76ers’hopes in the LeBron James sweepstakes are not over. James has a $51.4 million player option with the Lakers for the 2024-2025 season. If James is unhappy with the situation in Los Angeles, the option of going to the Warriors or 76ers would be very enticing. However, as of now, James has informed ESPN that he plans on returning to the Lakers in the offseason. Regardless, teams will be doing whatever they can to change James’ mind.
Will the Warriors have a chance at signing LeBron James this off-season? Could LeBron possibly join up with another former MVP Joel Embiid in Philadelphia? Only time will tell for the 39-year-old superstar.
