According to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the Golden State Warriors will keep pursuing LeBron James during the offseason.
“The offseason is always informed by the playoffs.” James would like to end his career as a Laker, based on everything I’ve heard over the past five years. Is that the only option? Who knows? There might come a time when the Lakers lose so badly that James starts to look elsewhere. But in the last four seasons, the Lakers have only won one championship and made it to the conference finals once. This summer, they will have the option to trade three first-round picks, and league sources anticipate that they will look for a perimeter player who can make a significant impact. Lowe noted on February 16 that “that does not mean the Warriors will give up their pursuit of James.”
According to Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Warriors attempted to acquire James from the Los Angeles Lakers during the most recent trade deadline, but were unsuccessful.
With the support of Draymond Green, the top player for the Warriors, Golden State owner Joe Lacob contacted Lakers owner Jeanie Buss to ask if James’s seeming public annoyance could be seen as a sign that a trade may be discussed, according to sources.
According to sources, Buss informed Lacob that the Lakers had no intention of trading James, but he would need to ask his agency, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, what James’ current mental condition was. According to reports, Buss has approached her decision to direct the Warriors leadership to James’ representation because, as an owner, she has always acted in the belief that her star players should be happy with the team.
James ultimately expressed no desire to be traded to the Warriors.
Possible Package for LeBron JamesÂ
In the event that James rejects his $51.4 million player option, the Warriors would not have the financial space to sign the Lakers star directly, so if they were to try again to acquire him, it would have to be through a trade.
In an opt-in and trade scenario, Lowe hypothesized what the Warriors would have to give up to team James with Stephen Curry.
“With Jonathan Kuminga and Brandin Podziemski leading the Warriors’ comeback and Golden State’s best chance to bridge the gap from the Curry era to the next, the Lakers would undoubtedly ask for one or both of them. Chris Paul would probably be included in the agreement in order to match salaries. The Warriors may also need to incorporate one of Andrew Wiggins and Klay Thompson, depending on the other components. (Draymond Green would probably stay in Golden State given his function as a trade-concoction middleman and prominent Klutch client.)” Lowe noted.
Sabrina Ionescu loses to Stephen Curry in the 3-point challenge.
Curry demonstrated once more why he is the greatest shooter in human history.
During All-Star Weekend in Indianapolis on February 17, the Warriors star came through in the clutch to defeat New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu 29–26 in the NBA vs. WNBA 3-point game.
Curry had just 21 points when he went into the last rack, his money-ball rack, where each ball was worth two points. In a spectacular fashion, he made his final four to win.
Ionescu’s 26 points in the NBA 3-Point Shootout tied Milwaukee Bucks player Damian Lillard’s winning total.
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