Getty Stephen Curry #30 and Draymond Green #23 of the Golden State Warriors warm up before their game against the LA Clippers.
The ESPN bombshell on Valentine’s Day about the Golden State Warriors‘ failed bid to land Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James at the trade deadline was not news to Stephen Curry.
Of course, as the franchise cornerstone, he knew what the front office was up to. So what shocked him was the information getting leaked.
“I’m never surprised [about our team inquiring],” Curry told reporters after the Warriors dropped a 130-125 heartbreaker to the Kawhi Leonard-less Los Angeles Clippers on February 14. “It’s always a surprise that stuff like that gets out because I’m assuming that every team is making calls that if every fan or every fan base or media group would know about, it would maybe normalize the conversations that happen in the front office, especially around the trade deadline when you’re exploring around the league who’s available, who’s not and gauging interest on that. So, obviously, a guy like Bron who you would probably call just to see [if he’s available]. I don’t know what the depths of those conversations were but that was a nice little surprise this [Wednesday] morning for sure.”
A Curry-James tandem would have changed the NBA’s landscape massively and potentially extend the Warriors’ fading dynasty.
Warriors Made Serious Bid
According to the ESPN report, the Warriors were serious in their trade deadline pursuit of James that the conversation started at the owners’ level.
Armed with the encouragement of Warriors star Draymond Green, Golden State owner Joe Lacob reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss to inquire whether James’ apparent public frustration could be interpreted as an opening to discuss a trade, sources said.
Buss told Lacob the Lakers had no desire to trade James, but that he would need to seek the answer on James’ state of mind from his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, sources said. As an owner, Buss has operated with the mindset that she wants her star players content with the franchise, and that instructed her thinking on referring Warriors leadership to James’ representation, sources said.
Green, according to the report, desperately tried to lure James to join him and Curry at Golden State. The Warriors forward sent a text message to his agent, Rich Paul, who also represents James and his Lakers co-star Anthony Davis, asking for the power agent’s help to convince James.
LeBron James’ Response
The Warriors ultimately failed with James finally expressing his commitment to the Lakers organization for this season and next season, 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.
Save for Wednesday’s fourth-quarter collapse against the Clippers, the Warriors have started to turn things around. They have won 7 of their last 9 games to enter the play-in picture.
Interestingly, they are trailing James and his Lakers who are 2 full games ahead of them in the standings entering February 15.
The Warriors could revisit their interest in James this summer depending on how their and the Lakers’ season ends.