![\"Lakers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-1966616779-e1755887064573.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors shares a laugh after game.<\/p>\n
The Golden State Warriors<\/a> have repeatedly explored the possibility of pairing Stephen Curry<\/a> with LeBron James<\/a>, reaching out to the Los Angeles Lakers<\/a> multiple times over the past 18 months, according to NBA insider Jake Fischer.<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as LeBron James\u2019 future in Los Angeles remains uncertain, Golden State will undoubtedly be mentioned as a potential James suitor,\u201d Fischer wrote on \u201cThe Stein Line\u201d newsletter<\/a> on Aug. 22.<\/p>\n The Warriors\u2019 interest dates back to the 2024 trade deadline, but those discussions quickly fizzled after LeBron\u2019s longtime agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, shut down the idea, NBA insider Marc Stein reported.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is believed the Lakers would have reluctantly entertained trade conversations \u2026 if James wanted them to seriously engage Golden State,\u201d Stein wrote in August 2024<\/a>. \u201cYet league sources say the reported talks never got that far\u2014in large part because his agent Rich Paul was adamantly opposed.\u201d<\/p>\n Paul sought to protect the superstar\u2019s image from backlash tied to another move.<\/p>\n \u201cSources say Paul implored both teams to scrap the concept \u2026 largely because he wanted to insulate James from potential backlash over switching teams for the fourth time in his career,\u201d Stein added.<\/p>\n The speculation did not end there.<\/p>\n Rich Paul\u2019s Controversial Statement<\/p>\n After James picked up his $52.6 million player option earlier this summer, Paul\u2019s public comments rekindled questions about his long-term commitment to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n \u201cLeBron wants to compete for a championship,\u201d Paul told ESPN<\/a> in June. \u201cHe knows the Lakers are building for the future \u2026 We do want to evaluate what\u2019s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Paul later clarified that James had not requested a trade, his statement left an air of ambiguity, particularly as the Lakers pivoted toward Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/a> as their centerpiece. Don\u010di\u0107 signed a three-year, $165 million extension to anchor the franchise\u2019s future, while James, now 39, enters the final year of his contract without extension talks.<\/p>\n Steph Curry-LeBron Olympic Pairing Photo by Gregory Shamus\/Getty ImagesLeBron James and Stephen Curry celebrate after winning the gold in the 2024 Paris Olympics.<\/p>\n The Warriors have stayed persistent, driven by both basketball logic and sentiment. James\u2019 Olympic partnership with Curry at the 2024 Paris Games was a breakthrough moment. Under Team USA coach Steve Kerr \u2014 who also guides the Warriors \u2014 the longtime rivals displayed instant chemistry, with James repeatedly setting up Curry for open 3-pointers in a gold-medal run.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the battles we\u2019ve had \u2026 the fact that we actually got to be teammates \u2026 in high-stakes basketball with a lot on the line \u2026 I think there\u2019s a deepened respect and friendship there,\u201d Curry told People magazine<\/a> in September 2024.<\/p>\n Curry also fanned speculation when he shared a photo of himself and James celebrating their medals, a post that quickly went viral. While he stopped short of openly campaigning for a union, Curry left the door open.<\/p>\n \u201cHopefully, there will be more experiences in the future, even if we\u2019re teammates or not,\u201d Curry said. \u201cI think we motivated each other even more to however much longer we have left playing.\u201d<\/p>\n For now, James remains a Laker, and both sides continue to project business as usual. But with the Lakers clearly orienting toward a post-LeBron era and the Warriors intent on squeezing every ounce out of Curry\u2019s championship window, the possibility of one last blockbuster pairing remains on the NBA\u2019s radar.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tAlder Almo<\/a> is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has more than 20 years of experience in local and international media, including broadcast, print and digital. He previously covered the Knicks for Empire Sports Media and the NBA for Off the Glass. Alder is from the Philippines and is now based in Jersey City, New Jersey. More about Alder Almo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Warriors\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers and Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors shares a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88658,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-88657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88657","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Stephen](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/GettyImages-2165927656-e1739568693414.jpg\")
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