In a different world, LeBron James may have been a Golden State Warrior.
According to a report from longtime NBA insider Marc Stein, the Lakers and Warriors were engaged in tentative talks surrounding a trade for the 20-time All-Star.
The blockbuster move would have united James and Steph Curry long before the duo teamed up to win Olympic gold in Paris, but according to Stein, James’ agent and close friend Rich Paul squashed the talks before they could even get off the ground.
“It is believed that the Lakers would have reluctantly entertained trade conversations with the Warriors before last February’s trade deadline if James wanted them to seriously engage Golden State on a potential deal,” Stein wrote in his Substack
“Yet league sources say that the reported talks between the teams at the time never got that far in large part because James’ agent Rich Paul was adamantly opposed to the idea of LeBron James swapping Southern California for Northern California.”
James moving north would have been massive news as it would have given the Warriors trio of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green one more run at the title together. As it stands, Thompson now plays for Dallas and James is returning to LA for the 2024-25 season.
“Sources say Rich Paul implored both teams to scrap the concept… largely because he wanted to insulate James from potential backlash over switching teams for the fourth time in his career,” Stein wrote.
James famously left Cleveland to “take his talents to South Beach” in Miami for a team-up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosch where he won multiple NBA titles.
He eventually returned and led the Cavs to a title in 2016, but left his home state again for the Lakers in 2018.
