During a clandestine 24-hour period before Thursday's trade deadline that included talks between owners, the Golden State Warriors made an unsuccessful attempt to convince the Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James to consider a trade to pair him with old rival Stephen . Curry, sources told ESPN.
The Warriors were eager to present a package to Los Angeles, but neither the Lakers nor James were willing to explore a potential blockbuster. Even at 39, James still plays at an All-NBA level that sparked the Warriors' imagination about his ability to extend the window of the franchise's waning dynasty.
Armed with the support of Warriors star Draymond Green, Golden State owner Joe Lacob reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss to ask if James' apparent public frustration could be interpreted as an opening for discuss a trade, sources said.
Buss told Lacob that the Lakers had no desire to trade James, but that he would need to seek the answer about James' mental state from his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, sources said. As owner, Buss has operated with the mentality that she wants her star players to be happy with the franchise, and that directed her to think about referring the Warriors' leadership to James' representation, sources said.
If the Lakers ever wanted a temperature check on James' commitment, this was their chance. In the end, the answer came resoundingly on the eve of the trade deadline: Paul told Lacob and Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. that James had no interest in a trade and wanted to remain a Laker, they said. the sources. When Dunleavy contacted Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka in those hours before the trade deadline, Dunleavy had been told the same thing: The Lakers wanted to keep James, sources said.
Earlier on Wednesday, Green, whom Paul also represents in Klutch, had sent Paul a text message requesting his help in convincing James to join him in Golden State, sources said. Green had once been the lead recruiter in signing Kevin Durant in free agency with Golden State, but this was a much different and much more futile last-minute search.
Dunleavy was the team's second executive call to Pelinka about a possible James trade, sources said. After seeing James' cryptic hourglass social media post a week before the trade deadline, Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey called Pelinka to investigate a James trade. and was immediately told that James was unavailable. In fact, Pelinka responded by asking Morey if Joel Embiid was available, sources said. And that brief conversation ended there. These types of bold trade calls are historically common practice for Morey, who also called the Phoenix Suns and inquired about Durant's availability, only to be told Durant was unavailable, sources said.
The exchange between the Warriors and Lakers is different because it began at the ownership level and included Buss referring the Warriors to James' representation to verify for themselves James' commitment to the Lakers.
The Warriors could resume a search in the offseason, when James has a $51.4 million player option in his contract for 2024-25. If James returns to the Lakers, he will likely do so by declining that option and re-signing with Los Angeles on a new deal that would allow him an annual raise. James remains focused on returning to the Lakers in the offseason, sources told ESPN, but there will undoubtedly be many of these same suitors, including Golden State and Philadelphia, looking to convince James otherwise.
The Lakers and Warriors were restricted at the trade deadline. The Lakers are hopeful they can make a more significant upgrade to their roster in the offseason, when they will have three future first-round picks available to use in trades, sources said.
The Warriors had substantial talks about several trade scenarios, including with Chicago's Alex Caruso and Utah's Kelly Olynyk, sources said, but only made a deal to save money by moving guard Cory Joseph. Golden State faces the potential of unrestricted free agency for four-time champion guard Klay Thompson.
The Lakers and Warriors sit ninth and 10th, respectively, in the Western Conference standings.
