Skip to main content

LeBron James Trade Reportedly Reconsidered by Warriors After Rich Paul's Statement


The dream of a potential LeBron James-Stephen Curry pairing was at least put back on the table after Rich Paul's statement that indicated the future Hall of Famer might be looking to leave the Los Angeles Lakers.

Per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst, the Golden State Warriors were among a handful of teams that reconsidered making a trade offer for James in the wake of Paul's statement.

After James opted in to his $52.6 million salary for the 2025-26 season with the Lakers, Paul issued a statement to ESPN's Shams Charania that raised a lot of questions about the four-time MVP's desire to stay in Los Angeles:

Realistic LeBron James and Giannis Trades That Can Still Happen

Bleacher Report2d

 Trade Idea to Pair LeBron James with NBA's Next Generational Star

Bleacher Report1d

 LeBron James Reportedly Forgave Lakers for Lack of Notice on Luka-Anthony Davis Trade

Bleacher Report6h

"LeBron wants to compete for a championship. He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we've had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.

"We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what's best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what's best for him."

James and Stephen Curry have frequently talked about teaming up in the NBA. The Warriors reportedly tried to take two huge swings before the trade deadline in February by going after James and Kevin Durant.

Coming out of their experience playing together for Team USA in the Olympics last summer, neither James nor Curry dismissed the idea of pairing up again.

"I have no idea," James told reporters in October when asked if he could envision himself being on the same team with Curry again.

Speaking to Natasha Dye of People last September, Curry said he was hoping to have "more experiences" with James in the future, "even if we're teammates or not."

The Warriors don't seem to have a lot of trade chips that would seem to entice the Lakers to move James. Their roster is top-heavy with Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green accounting for $139.6 million in salary next season.

Butler, in theory, could be traded for James since their salaries are nearly identical. But what's the incentive for the Lakers to add a player who will turn 36 on Sept. 14 and hasn't played more than 65 games in a season since 2016-17?

The Warriors do own all of their first-round draft picks through 2032, so they could use that to sweeten any potential offer. But how many future draft picks is a team going to give up for a player who will turn 41 on Dec. 31?

On top of all that, James can dictate anywhere he goes if he wants to leave the Lakers because his contract includes a full no-trade clause. If he doesn't view the Warriors as a top-tier title contender, that may not be an appealing destination for him.

There are so many unanswered questions about this whole situation with James that until they get resolved, all we are left with is speculation about where he is going to be playing when the 2025-26 season begins.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

NBA Monday Morning Shootaround: LeBron James, The Hunger Games, and More - Bleacher Report

Welcome to the "Monday Morning Shootaround," Bleacher Report's recap of the weekend that was in the NBA. Along with getting you caught up on the weekendĆ¢€™s playoff action, weĆ¢€™ll give you a sneak preview of what could potentially be the greatest basketball book of all time, show you the best 70-year-old playground superstar ever, and tell you about a young star that just might choose religion over the fame and fortune of the NBA. The Opening Tip * ABC cameras caught LeBron James reading The Hunger Games before the Miami Heat played the Indiana Pacers on Sunday. Shortly thereafter, the Miami Heat small forward proceeded to go into full Katniss Everdeen mode to the tune of 40 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists as the Heat pulled out a hard-fought 101-93 victory. After a slow start, Heat guard Dwyane Wade finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and six assists of his own. But Sunday afternoon was all about James and his gaudy numbers, virtually all of which we...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breaking Down the Differences Between LeBron James and Kevin Durant - Bleacher Report

LeBron James and Kevin Durant are being coined as "the future of the NBA 's next generation." That is certainly true, but they aren't exactly on the same level. LeBron and Durant are two different players, who bring varying skills to different facets of the game. Instead of just comparing them in a "who's the best" fashion, let's take a minute and break down which player excels in each and every facet of the game of basketball. Ahead is a breakdown of the differences that exist between LeBron and Durant.Ƃ  Scoring Ronald Martinez/Getty Images LeBron 2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 27.1 points, 53.1 FG%, 36.3 3P%, 77.1 FT% Durant 2011-12 Per-Game Stats: 28.0 points, 49.6 FG%, 38.7 3P%, 86.0 FT% Scoring is what Kevin Durant does. It's not only his specialty, it's also what makes him such a dangerous and elite player. With that being said, LeBron isn't exactly a slouch on the offensive side of the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Luka Dončić joins LeBron James, Magic Johnson and Jerry West as only Lakers to post 30 points and 15 assists in a game

LeBron James joined a club of one on Tuesday , while Luka Dončić joined a club of four. With 30 points and a Lakers career-high 15 assists, Luka Dončić became only the fourth player in Lakers history to post those totals in a single game in a 136-115 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The other three: James, Magic Johnson and Jerry West. We'll call that a solid group. That performance included a stretch of three straight 3-pointers to set the tone in the first quarter. It was once again the LeBron and Dončić (LeBrončić?) show, as Dončić's co-star posted 34 points on 10-of-18 shooting, eight rebounds and six assists. Center Jaxson Hayes also had one of the best games of his Lakers career, scoring 19 points on a perfect 8-of-8 shooting plus 10 rebounds. Dončić was two points away from tying his Lakers career high in points as well, and likely would have gotten it had L.A. not taken its foot off the gas in the fourth quarter. After a back-and-forth first half in which the P...
Post a Comment
Read more