Warriors Almost Made Draft Pick That Could Have Landed LeBron James: Report

The Golden State Warriors had designs on a deal for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James ahead of last season’s trade deadline — a sentiment they carried all the way into the second night of the NBA draft.

Ramona Shelbourne of ESPN reported on Friday, October 4, that the Dubs seriously considered drafting Bronny James — LeBron James’ eldest son — in the second round with the 52nd overall pick. The motivation was two fold, as Golden State harbored some general admiration for Bronny James’ game but also saw the move as a potential route to LeBron James ending up in the Bay Area.

“[The Warriors], who had tried to trade for James last season, weighed whether to take Bronny at No. 52,” Shelbourne wrote. “The Warriors liked Bronny’s skill set and had him on their draft board, sources said. Selecting him ahead of the Lakers, who held the 55th pick, would’ve been a shrewd move — perhaps even to entice James to sign there as a free agent. But ultimately, sources said, the Warriors opted to respect the wishes James had made clear and the Lakers signaled they would grant.”

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Steph Curry, LeBron James Made for Exceptional Teammates During Summer Olympics

Whether Golden State drafting Bronny James would have ultimately secured a contract with his father is something no one outside of the James family will ever know with certainty. Also lacking certainty is the notion that securing James would have vaulted the Dubs back into legitimate title contention, as Stephen Curry writes the final chapters of his NBA legacy.

James and Curry were quite the pair during the medal rounds of this year’s Summer Olympics in Paris, as James drove the high-octane sports car that was Team USA’s offense and Curry served as his stealthy sidekick — often assuming the hero role with dagger 3-pointers down the stretch to stave off Serbia in the semifinals and best host country France in the title game. Curry shot 17-of-26 from deep in the two contests combined.

The pick-and-roll between James and Curry was a revelation, and the general chemistry between the two bitter rivals turned respected adversaries turned genuine friends across years of battles (several of them in the the NBA Finals) was obvious to the eye of even the most casual observer.

That doesn’t change the fact, however, that the two men will be a combined 78 years old by the time this regular season ends and the 2024-25 playoffs begin.

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Warriors’ Trade for LeBron James Neither Impossible, Likely

James’ agent, close friend and Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul did his part to shut down trade talks between the Lakers and Warriors involving James last winter with one specific goal in mind.

“Sources say Rich Paul implored both teams to scrap the concept,” NBA insider Marc Stein reported in August, “largely because he wanted to insulate James from potential backlash over switching teams for the fourth time in his career.”

James subsequently declined the player option on his previous deal with the Lakers and signed a new one-and-one agreement with Los Angeles that pays him north of $101 million over the next two seasons. The contract includes a player option on the second year as well as a no-trade clause and a 15% trade kicker should the Lakers decide to deal James and he decides to sign off on the move.

As such, it isn’t impossible that James could end up in Golden State at some point before he retires. However, it is now highly unlikely.

Though that could have changed on that fateful night of June 27, when the Warriors had the future of Bronny James in their hands but decided against using him as a bargaining chip.

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