Following the NBA trade deadline on February 8, the Warriors caused a stir when a report surfaced that they were attempting to sign Los Angeles Lakers superstar Lebron James.
Joining TNT's “Inside the NBA” panel with Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Shaquille O'Neal ahead of the 2024 NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, James discussed the blockbuster rumor.
“It didn't go far at all,” James said of Johnson, Barkley, Smith and O'Neal. “I actually heard about it when everyone else heard about it. Charles was in the league, Kenny was in the league, Shaq was in the league, and sometimes conversations happen behind closed doors that I guess you don't even know if they're real or not. then they bring it to you.
“But it never reached me, so when the reports came in I heard it too.”
James admitted to hearing about the rumor, but did not fully confirm its validity. His response comes just days after Golden State guard Steph Curry expressed his stance on the James-to-Warriors rumor.
“It's always a surprise when something like this comes to light,” Curry told reporters on Wednesday. “Because I assume every team is calling, if every fan base or media group knew about it, the conversations in the front office would normalize, especially around the trade deadline when you're looking around the league for the players who are available and who aren't.”
“Of course, you would probably call a man like Bron just to check. I don’t know how deep the conversations were, but it was definitely a nice little surprise this morning.”
The idea that James could play for the Warriors' home crowd at Chase Center in San Francisco is understandably far-fetched.
Given the rivalry between James and the Warriors that has dominated the NBA playoffs and other primetime slots for a decade, it's fair to assume the trade had no legs left.
However, on The TK Show with Tim Kawakami last Wednesday, Warriors owner Joe Lacob didn't hesitate when he explained that Golden State is always keeping its eyes open for improvement – no matter what.
“As far as the reports go, I’m not going to say anything about a specific player or anything,” Lacob told Kawakami. “I'm just telling you, you know, we're aggressive and we're constantly looking at things.
“When we acquired Kevin Durant many years ago, it was an incredibly aggressive move that we made. I think half of our squad left to achieve something [the deal]. Even though we had a really good team, we felt like we could be better and we did [got better]. I'll tell Mike [Dunleavy Jr.] and Kirk [Lacob] Nothing is off the table – nothing.”
While Curry and James weren't too convinced by the rumors, one thing is for sure: Lacob isn't afraid to take his shot if it means Golden State can improve.
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