Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry finally touched on the Warriors’ pursuit of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James at the 2024 trade deadline.
While Golden State didn’t end up landing James since the Lakers star preferred to remain in Los Angeles, it made a push to pair the four-time champion with Curry several years after the two stars matched up in the NBA Finals in four consecutive seasons.
“Over 15 years after James watched Curry in the NCAA tournament, the Warriors tried to pair Curry and James during a clandestine 24-hour window prior to the 2024 trade deadline,” ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk wrote. “With Draymond Green’s encouragement, Golden State owner Joe Lacob reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss to inquire about whether James would be open to a trade to the Warriors. Buss and the Lakers did not want to trade James but told Lacob to talk with James’ agent, Rich Paul.
“Curry said he did not reach out to James to feel things out before Paul and the Lakers eventually told the Warriors that James wanted to remain with L.A.”
While Green certainly wanted the Warriors to add James, it appears Curry didn’t pull the full-court press on James to push for a trade to Golden State.
Last season, the Warriors ended up missing the playoffs (they lost in the play-in tournament) while James and the Lakers earned the No. 7 seed in the West. Los Angeles didn’t have much success in the playoffs, as it lost to the Denver Nuggets in five games in the first round.
“Like any talented high-IQ basketball player, whether it’s LeBron, whether it’s KD, whether it’s me, whether it’s AD, whoever you put him on any team, you should be able to figure it out,” Curry told ESPN about the blockbuster trade scenario.
“That’s as far as it got from a year ago. Because it sounded outlandish when I first heard about it. I never thought he’d leave the Lakers. And I obviously said I never really wanted to leave here.”
Since Curry and James both have ties to their respective franchises, it’s hard to see them ever teaming up outside of the Olympics (as they did in 2024) or in the All-Star Game.
Curry has spent his entire career with Golden State while James is now playing with his son on the Lakers. In addition to that, the Lakers made a massive move ahead of this season’s trade deadline, acquiring All-NBA guard Luka Doncic in a deal with the Dallas Mavericks.
While fans may want to see what a James and Curry pairing would look like throughout an NBA season, the odds of it happening appear to be extremely slim. James, 40, is in the twilight of his career, and the Warriors just made a win-now move by acquiring Jimmy Butler at the trade deadline this season.
There is a chance that Curry and James could face each other in the playoffs again – something that happened in the 2022-23 season when Los Angeles made the Western Conference Finals.
Golden State currently holds the No. 10 seed in the Western Conference which is the final spot in the play-in tournament. The Lakers are in a much better spot, sitting in the No. 5 seed in the West entering the league’s All-Star break.
Still, it’s always possible that these teams could meet down the line in the playoffs, even if it isn’t a first-round matchup.
