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Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob addressed the ESPN report on Valentine’s Day about their failed pursuit of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James.
“We have a culture that is very aggressive,” Lacob said on the “Tim Kawakami Show” a few hours after the ESPN report came out. “We’re always going to try to be aggressive, we’re going to try to put the best team on the court.
And if it costs a lot of money, it’s gonna cost a lot of money. We’re willing to invest in it. We do those things, hopefully at the right time, not the wrong time.”
Lacob referenced their aggressive move of recruiting Kevin Durant back in 2016 which sealed the Warriors dynasty.
“That was an incredibly aggressive move that we made where I think half of our roster went away in order to accomplish it. We felt, even though, we had a really good team we could be better,” Lacob said.
The Warriors traded center Andrew Bogut for a draft capital while letting forward Harrison Barnes and center Festus Ezeli walk in free agency to clear enough cap room to sign Durant.
“And we did go to three finals — should have won all three — we did win two. And so there are these inflection points, these times when sometimes players might or might be available, even if it’s not something you may be considered, you need to consider it,” Lacob explained.
“We’re always looking at everything and I tell Mike [Dunleavy Jr.] nothing is off the table,” he continued. Nothing. So we look at everything and if the deal is right and the timings right, and we have consensus generally inside then you know, we got to consider this thing.”
LeBron James Spurns Warriors
Despite James’ desire to play with Stephen Curry, which he said in 2022, the Lakers superstar coldly answered with a resounding no to the Warriors at the trade deadline, according to the ESPN report.
In the end, the answer was returned resoundingly on the eve of the trade deadline: Paul told Lacob and Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr., that James had no interest in a trade and wanted to remain a Laker, sources said. When Dunleavy reached out to Lakers GM Rob Pelinka in those pre-trade deadline hours, Dunleavy had been told the same: The Lakers wanted to keep James, sources said.
The Warriors could still revisit their interest in James and convince him to do a sign-and-trade this summer if things do not end well in Los Angeles. The 39-year-old James has a $51.4 million player option for next season.
Klay Thompson Ignores Steph Curry After Costly Blunder
Klay Thompson was caught on video ignoring Curry, who was trying to console him after committing an ill-advised foul with 39 seconds remaining and the Warriors were just trailing by 3.
The jarring scene was the latest in what is shaping up to be Thompson’s most frustrating NBA season.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr was in disbelief. Rookie Brandin Podziemski, who had just drained a corner 3-pointer to give the Warriors a shot at potentially tying the game and sending it to overtime, mirrored his coach’s reaction.
“It’s obvious [we didn’t have to foul,” Kerr later told reporters after the jarring loss. “Defend and just play it out and get a rebound and then it’s a one-possession game.”
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