ESPN’s Ramona Shelbourne reported this morning that Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob called Los Angeles Lakers owner Jeanie Buss a day before the trade deadline to ask if LeBron James would be interested in being traded to the Warriors and team up with Stephen Curry. However, the conversation was not successful as neither James nor the Lakers showed any interest. Here is a full overview of the conversations that took place a little before the last 24-hour window during the NBA Trade Deadline last week.
According to reports, Warriors forward Draymond Green had encouraged Lacob to attempt to set up a conversation with the organization to test the temperature of the trade potential. However, Lakers’ owner, Jeanie Buss, was quick to dismiss any such possibility of trading LeBron James. Lacob explained to Buss that he had to reach out to LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul, after his cryptic messages leading up to the trade deadline. Paul made the Warriors aware that he had spoken with James, and he did not have much interest in teaming up with Stephen Curry and Golden State.
It appears that the recent conversations between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors were more extensive than the one held between the Philadelphia 76ers General Manager Daryl Morey and Lakers GM Rob Pelinka a couple of weeks ago. Sources suggest that Pelinka had inquired about the availability of Joel Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, which caused the conversation to slow down significantly. However, the Lakers and Warriors’ discussions were more elaborate as they involved multiple channels and levels, including owners, general managers, players, and agents – with Rich Paul representing Green.
Green attempted to convince Paul to advise James to join the Golden State team. If the Los Angeles Lakers had any doubts about James’ commitment to the team, they received a clear answer. This does not mean that the Golden State Warriors have given up on pursuing the 39-year-old star this offseason. James will hold a player option worth $51.4 million this summer, and to stay within the cap, he’s likely to decline and sign a new deal with the Lakers if that’s where he wants to stay.
The two teams sitting in ninth and tenth place tried to shake up the league with a BLOCKBUSTER trade that could never come to fruition. That does not mean it will not this summer. Stay patient. Good things happen to fans that are patient.
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