The owners of the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers spoke about a possible LeBron James trade ahead of last week’s trade deadline, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelbourne reported on Wednesday.
According to the report, Warriors owner Joe Lacob reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss to gauge James’ interest in a trade. Buss told Lacob that the Lakers had no interest in trading James, but she added that the Warriors could reach out to James’ agent Rich Paul of Klutch Sports to determine the future Hall of Famer’s interest in a move.
Warriors star Draymond Green, who shares representation with James, reportedly also reached out to Paul about a James trade to Golden State.
Ultimately, on the eve of the Feb. 8 trade deadline, the Warriors were informed by Paul that James wanted to remain a Laker.
James — as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers — faced the Warriors in four-straight NBA Finals, from 2015-18. The Cavaliers won one title during that span after erasing a 3-1 series deficit in 2017.
James, 39, raised eyebrows when he posted a tweet with an hourglass emoji the week before the trade deadline. Despite winning the in-season tournament, the Lakers are battling for a spot in the play-in tournament and are barely above .500, leading some to wonder if the tweet signified James was looking to move on.
ESPN’s report added that after James posted that tweet, 76ers president Daryl Morey reached out to the Lakers about a possible James trade. Morey was quickly told no by Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, who in turn asked if 76ers star Joel Embiid was available.
James has a $51.4-million player option on his contract for 2024-25.
