The Golden State Warriors still have not made any moves this offseason. However, that has not stopped them from continuing to knock down every door to a potential superstar. According to the latest reporting from NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line, the Warriors have made multiple inquiries to the Los Angeles Lakers trying to acquire LeBron James over the past year. Given James’ rocky offseason with the Lakers, it’s worth wondering if a move could eventually come together.
“As long as LeBron James’ future in Los Angeles remains uncertain, Golden State will undoubtedly be mentioned as a potential James suitor,” Fischer wrote. “I’m told that the Warriors have called the Lakers on multiple occasions over the past 18 months to see whether there is any trade pathway to pairing James with Stephen Curry, who roughly a year ago at this time was teaming with LeBron for the United States senior men’s national team on its run to a gold medal at the Paris Olympics. After all those NBA Finals clashes. James and Curry were said to greatly enjoy their experience as teammates on the international stage … with Golden State’s Steve Kerr, of course, serving as their Olympic coach.”
This is not the first time smoke has popped up tying James to the Warriors. The Warriors reportedly made a run at James prior to the 2024 NBA trade deadline, but the Lakers deferred to James’ preference to stay in Los Angeles. However, a lot has changed in Lakerland since then. The Lakers acquired Luka Dončić last season, signaling a new era in Los Angeles. The team has seemingly not made any attempt to sign James to an extension this offseason and his agent Rich Paul released a passive aggressive statement that signaled frustration with a relatively passive approach to improving the team this offseason.
It’s important to note that Fischer was not signaling any deal coming together this offseason. There would be several salary cap complications and, more importantly, the Lakers seem uninterested in splitting up James and Dončić at this point. It’s worth noting that a swap that sent Draymond Green, Moses Moody, and Buddy Hield to for James could work from a salary cap perspective and would solidify some Lakers defense/depth questions around Luka. Still, it would be shocking to see any trade come together before the season starts.
A more likely trade scenario involves the February trade deadline. If the Lakers stumble to start the season and/or tensions emerge between James and Doncic, the Warriors would still have Green, Moody, and Hield, but also expect to have Jonathan Kuminga on a tradeable contract as well.
The Warriors continue refusing to give up on adding more massive superstars. While the rumor churn and patient approach is understandably frustrating to fans, the Dubs are simply hesitant to close the door to acquiring a megastar unless they think they are getting great value. Will the strategy pay off? Only time will tell.