The Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James are having relationship issues. Ever since LeBron opted in to his $50+ million player option, signs have been point to a deterierating relationship between LeBron and the Lakers organization.
Consequently, LeBron trade rumors have started, and one shocking team may be throwing their hat into the conversation.
According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne, the Warriors seriously explored a trade for LeBron James:
“The gigantic trade that had landed Doncic in Los Angeles had formed sudden new realities, one of which was James eventually becoming an expiring contract for the first time in his 23-year career. It was the strongest sign yet that the end of his Lakers tenure was near… A handful of teams — including the Golden State Warriors, who tried to trade for James in 2023-24 — considered again whether to make an offer, sources said.”
While it might make sense for the Warriors to pursue LeBron, the Lakers would likely be psyched on sending one of their franchise legends to their interstate rival.
However, this is Lebron James we are talking about. If a Lakers-LeBron trade were to happen, LeBron would likely be able to dictate where he’d be sent. If he named the Warriors as one of his preferred destinations, the Lakers may not have a choice.
For the Lakers, the Warriors could give them some decent assets in return for James. Just by salaries alone someone like Draymond Green or Jonathan Kuminga would likely need to be in the deal.
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For now, the Lakers just need to wait and see if that LeBron trade request becomes a reality. If not, they’ll have at least one more season with James on their roster.
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