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According to a stunning report from ESPN, the Golden State Warriors made a late push to trade for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James hours before the NBA trade deadline last Thursday.
The report, published early Wednesday morning by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne, said both teams’ owners, general managers and players were involved in the last-minute trade conversation.
The Warriors believed the Lakers, and James in particular, may have been interested in a trade after James seemingly aired his displeasure with the team on social media — posting a single hourglass emoji on Jan. 30.
With that knowledge in hand, Warriors owner Joe Lacob reportedly reached out to Lakers owner Jeanie Buss about a potential trade.
The Warriors also reportedly deployed Draymond Green to help woo James directly.
Green and James are longtime friends and share an agent, Rich Paul.
Additionally, the report said the team’s general managers, the Warriors’ Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the Lakers’ Rob Pelinka, touched base in the hours before the deadline.
However, it was all for naught.
From the report: “The answer was returned resoundingly on the eve of the trade deadline: Paul told Lacob and Warriors GM Mike Dunleavy Jr., that James had no interest in a trade and wanted to remain a Laker, sources said.”
Widely considered one of the greatest players — if not the greatest player — in NBA history, at 39 years old, James is still putting up all-star caliber numbers in his 20th season.
Moreover, he is one of the most recognizable athletes in the world and a media empire unto himself. A LeBron trade would have had massive implications for the Warriors. In reality, Golden State experienced a quiet trade deadline. The team’s biggest move ended up being sending backup guard Cory Joseph to the Indiana Pacers for a second-round pick.
