The dream of a potential LeBron James-Stephen Curry pairing was at least put back on the table after Rich Paul’s statement that indicated the future Hall of Famer might be looking to leave the Los Angeles Lakers. <\/p>\n
Per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst<\/a>, the Golden State Warriors were among a handful of teams that reconsidered making a trade offer for James in the wake of Paul’s statement. <\/p>\n After James opted in to his $52.6 million salary for the 2025-26 season with the Lakers, Paul issued a statement to ESPN’s Shams Charania<\/a> that raised a lot of questions about the four-time MVP’s desire to stay in Los Angeles:<\/p>\n “LeBron wants to compete for a championship. He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career. <\/p>\n “We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”<\/p>\n James and Stephen Curry have frequently talked about teaming up in the NBA. The Warriors\u00a0reportedly<\/a>\u00a0tried to take two huge swings before the trade deadline in February by going after James and Kevin Durant.<\/p>\n Coming out of their experience playing together for Team USA in the Olympics last summer, neither James nor Curry dismissed the idea of pairing up again.<\/p>\n “I have no idea,” James\u00a0told reporters<\/a>\u00a0in October when asked if he could envision himself being on the same team with Curry again.<\/p>\n