With the Warriors sitting in 10th place in the Western Conference and holding onto the final play-in position, the team reportedly inquired about a potential blockbuster trade at the deadline that would have sent shockwaves across the league.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, Warriors owner Joe Lacob reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss to see if four-time league MVP LeBron James may be available in a trade.
Via ESPN:
Buss told Lacob the Lakers had no desire to trade James, but that he would need to seek the answer on James’ state of mind from his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, sources said. As an owner, Buss has operated with the mindset that she wants her star players content with the franchise, and that instructed her thinking on referring Warriors leadership to James’ representation, sources said.
If the Lakers ever wanted a temperature check on James’ commitment, here was his chance. In the end, the answer was returned resoundingly on the eve of the trade deadline: Rich Paul told Lacob and Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr., that James had no interest in a trade and wanted to remain a Laker, sources said. When Dunleavy reached out to Lakers GM Rob Pelinka in those pretrade deadline hours, Dunleavy had been told the same: The Lakers wanted to keep James, sources said.
Here’s what fans are saying about the monumental trade that never came to pass: