While rumors of the Golden State Warriors pursuing LeBron James ahead of the trade deadline generated plenty of headlines, it seems like the King wasn’t close to leaving the Los Angeles Lakers.
“It didn’t go far at all,” he told TNT’s Inside the NBA on Sunday. “I actually heard about it when everybody else heard about it.”
He also said “it never even got to me” when talking about the rumors.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported on Wednesday that Golden State “made an unsuccessful bid” in an effort to trade for James. However, neither the Lakers nor James was “willing to explore a potential blockbuster.”
Of note, Wojnarowski and Shelburne reported Warriors forward Draymond Green texted Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, who represents both players, in an effort to help convince James to join the Warriors.
It certainly would have been a landscape-altering trade if Golden State was able to acquire James.
After all, the Warriors have won four of the last nine titles with James facing them in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 through 2018 as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers. It also would have worked from a win-now timeline, as James is 39 years old and fairly lined up with Stephen Curry (35), Green (33) and Klay Thompson (34).
None of those players are likely too concerned about draft picks and the future and are looking to maximize their championship windows in the next couple of seasons.
Yet James elected to stay with the Lakers and continue the fight for a play-in spot with those same Warriors. Los Angeles is 30-26 and in ninth place in the Western Conference, while Golden State is 27-26 and in 10th place.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if the two teams wind up facing each other in the play-in tournament with the hopes of making a deep postseason run based on the individual star power on each roster.
