LeBron James’ decision to join the Philadelphia 76ers has continued to send shockwaves through the NBA, leaving Stephen Curry to reflect on Golden State’s failed pursuit of the four-time champion.
Meanwhile, in Boston, Jayson Tatum has unintentionally sparked fresh speculation over his relationship with former teammate Jaylen Brown after comments about leadership and humility quickly went viral, adding another layer to the fallout from one of the off-season’s biggest trades.
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All of this and more in the latest edition of NBA Daily.
WARRIORS PLANNING FUTURE BEYOND STEPH?
Stephen Curry’s remarkable career with the Golden State Warriors could be heading towards a difficult conclusion after the franchise missed out on landing LeBron James in free agency, leaving fresh questions over the team’s ability to contend for another championship.
James ended months of speculation on Saturday morning by signing a two-year, $8 million ($A11 million) deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, with a player option for the second season. The move will see the four-time NBA champion enter his record-breaking 24th NBA season, with the possibility of extending his career into a 25th.
Golden State was among the teams seriously pursuing James, with many believing the chance to pair him alongside Curry represented the Warriors’ best opportunity to maximise the final years of their superstar’s career.
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Instead, the Warriors were left empty-handed, adding to growing concerns about the direction of the franchise.
Warriors insider Tim Kawakami believes owner Joe Lacob has already begun shifting his focus towards life after Curry, rather than going all-in on one final championship run.
“What Lacob wants to do, and this might get Warriors fans mad. He wants to build the next team after Steph Curry,” Kawakami said on the TK Show.
“I don’t know how possible that is, but Lacob has a very keen interest in…this organisation’s going to show what it can do with Steph Curry and then after Steph Curry.”
At 38 years old, Curry is still performing at an elite level, averaging 26.6 points, 4.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds across 43 games last season while shooting 46.8% from the field, 39.3% from three-point range and 92.3% from the free-throw line.
However, injuries and a lack of roster depth contributed to another disappointing campaign. Golden State finished 37-45, ending the regular season in 10th place before defeating the Los Angeles Clippers in the Play-In Tournament and then falling to the Phoenix Suns.
The failure to land James only adds to the uncertainty surrounding the Warriors’ future.
Curry admitted he had hoped the pair would finally have the chance to play together after years of battling one another on the NBA’s biggest stage.
“That’s why you don’t envision anything until it happens,” Curry said. “There’s a lot of moving parts.”
James’ decision means Golden State will once again enter the season relying on its ageing core, something Curry acknowledged presents a difficult challenge after injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody derailed last year’s campaign.
“The through line, which is hard on anybody in this situation, especially with us keeping this thing together, is knowing that when Jimmy [Butler] got hurt and Moses [Moody] got hurt, the whole calculus of everything changes,” Curry said.
“How do you get through their absence and still stay at a certain level? And then how that goes into this year. It’s the same deal. So, I’m a realist on that.”
Before James made his decision, Curry had openly pitched the idea of the four-time NBA champion joining him in the Bay Area.
“The Bay, we know how to win, it’s beautiful weather, great golf, and I know he’s into that,” Curry said.
“The USA experience that we had, the battles that we’ve had over the years, we just know how to play basketball and I think that he would enjoy just the idea of what it means to finish your career the right way.”
LeBron James celebrates with USA's #04 Stephen Curry at the end of the men's semi-final basketball match between USA and Serbia during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 8, 2024. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP)
LeBron James celebrates with USA's #04 Stephen Curry at the end of the men's semi-final basketball match between USA and Serbia during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris on August 8, 2024. (Photo by Aris MESSINIS / AFP)Source: AFP
Instead, James will suit up for a Philadelphia team now considered one of the favourites to win the NBA championship, while Curry and the Warriors face another season with questions over whether they can build one final contender around the franchise icon.
With James now in the Eastern Conference, the two legends are scheduled to meet just twice during the regular season, once in Philadelphia and once in San Francisco, in what could be two of the final chapters of one of the NBA’s greatest rivalries.
TATUM’S SUBTLE JAB AT FORMER TEAMMATE
Jayson Tatum has found himself at the centre of fresh speculation surrounding his relationship with former Boston Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown after comments made during a leadership speech quickly went viral.
Speaking to a group of children, Tatum reflected on what leadership means to him, stressing that true leaders are willing to admit they don’t have all the answers.
“Being a leader doesn’t mean you know it all, right? I don’t know it all,” Tatum said.
“I’ll be the first person to say that. Being a leader is being comfortable with raising your hand like, I don’t know. Can you explain that to me? I don’t know X, Y, and Z. I want to learn. Being around somebody that feels like they know it all, I don’t want to be around that person. I don’t want to be the smartest person in the room. I want to learn from somebody else.”
While the speech centred on leadership, it didn’t take long for social media to connect Tatum’s comments to Brown, who was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers earlier this off-season in exchange for Paul George and two first-round picks.
Former NBA guard Brandon Jennings was among those who believed the comments were directed at Brown.
“Motivational message my a-- lmaooo that’s a shot at Jaylen Brown,”
The reaction stemmed from comments made earlier this month by Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd, who claimed multiple NBA sources had described Brown as someone who wanted to be “the smartest guy in every room he’s in.”
“He suddenly thinks he’s the smartest guy in every room he’s in,” Cowherd said.
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“I’ve worked with people in the media. You get into a really bad space and you make a lot of money. Suddenly, you’re absolutely sure. You don’t wanna listen to your bosses, you don’t wanna listen to consultants, and you don’t wanna listen to teammates. One executive told me this was always a little bit of Jaylen Brown’s personality: the smartest guy in the room. Live streaming, throwing it out there, and it’s just not a good space.”
Brown later responded to those claims during a livestream on his Twitch channel, rejecting the idea that he viewed himself that way.
“Personally, I think intelligence is relative,” Brown said.
“There’s different forms of what intelligence looks like… I never told nobody, ‘Look, I’m the smartest person in the room.’ That may be how they took it…
“No offence to everybody in sports, but the bar is f—ing low.”
Brown had also addressed the criticism in an earlier livestream.
“I never told anybody, look, I’m the smartest person in the room,” Brown said on his Twitch stream. “Now maybe I took it, but, let’s keep it a buck. In sports, no offence to everybody in sports, but the bar is f--king low.
“You know what I mean? The bar isn’t that high, so I think that’s what people need to take into consideration. It’s like, okay, he’s one of the smartest athletes, but a lot of athletes in the NBA, how high is the bar, really?”
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Maddie Meyer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Maddie Meyer / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)Source: AFP
Tatum’s remarks have only intensified long-running speculation that the relationship between the former All-Star teammates had cooled before Boston decided to move Brown.
Whether Tatum intended his comments to be interpreted that way remains unclear, but the timing has only reignited debate among Celtics fans. With Brown now in Philadelphia alongside newly signed LeBron James and Tatum preparing to lead Boston once again, the conversation surrounding the former teammates appears far from over.