August 19 news, this summer, the spectacular cooperation between LeBron James and Stephen Curry on the Olympic basketball court has once again sparked fantasies about the two teaming up in the NBA, however, this scenario is unlikely to happen.
Earlier, renowned sports journalist Marc Stein mentioned that the news of the Golden State Warriors attempting to trade for James before this year’s NBA trade deadline did not materialize largely due to James’ agent, Rich Paul, “sabotaging” the deal.
Marc Stein noted in his report that Rich Paul was “adamantly opposed” to James leaving the Los Angeles Lakers for the Golden State Warriors and did not want James to switch teams for the fourth time. “League sources indicate that at the time, talks between the two teams did not progress far, largely because James’ agent, Rich Paul, was adamantly against the idea of James moving from Southern California to Northern California, as he wanted to protect James from the potential negative impact of a fourth career move,” wrote Stein.
Sources say that at the time, there were some communications between Joe Lacob, the owner of the Warriors, and Jeanie Buss, the owner of the Lakers, and Draymond Green strongly lobbied for James to move to the Bay Area.
James has a significant history with the Warriors; he led the Cleveland Cavaliers to face the Warriors four times in the NBA Finals, winning a championship through a historic comeback. Since joining the Lakers, he has been in the same division as the Warriors and faced them in the playoffs during the 2022-23 season.
James began his career with the Cavaliers, moved to the Miami Heat, returned to Cleveland, and ultimately joined the Lakers. Another team change, especially at age 39, might have reignited old discussions about whether it would harm his career reputation.
James renewed his contract with the Lakers during this offseason and will play alongside his son Bronny in the 2024-25 season. However, without Paul’s intervention, things might have developed differently.