LeBron James and Stephen Curry just led Team USA men’s basketball to an Olympic gold medal in Paris, and even at their advanced ages, they’re both still playing at almost as high a level as they ever have.
It has stoked the imaginations of some fans who would love to see them play on the same NBA team. James himself said not too long ago that Curry is one superstar he’d love to play with.
There has been a little bit of talk across the web and social media about the possibility of that happening and what it would take. Simply put, it’s extremely unlikely.
But prior to February’s trade deadline, the Golden State Warriors did try to engage the Los Angeles Lakers in a potential trade that would’ve teamed up James and Curry in the Bay Area. The Lakers shot it down, and according to NBA insider Marc Stein, James’ agent Rich Paul was “adamantly opposed” to such a trade — and it was largely for an interesting reason (h/t NBC Sports).
“Sources say Paul implored both teams to scrap the concept — despite some owner-to-owner dialogue between the Warriors’ Joe Lacob and the Lakers’ Jeanie Buss and Green’s determination to lobby James to push for relocation to the Bay Area — largely because he wanted to insulate James from potential backlash over switching teams for the fourth time in his career,” Stein wrote.
Those who don’t want to give James his due criticize his habit of jumping from team to team every few years and teaming up with one or two other stars or superstars in order to stack the deck in his favor. A James-Curry pairing would’ve only given James’ critics that much more ammunition in that regard.
Although the Lakers are merely a playoff team and not a championship contender these days, James, by all accounts, seems content with them. After all, they hired his good friend and podcast co-host JJ Redick to be their head coach and drafted his son Bronny with the No. 55 pick in June’s draft.