The Golden State Warriors have spent their NBA off-season trying to upgrade their roster after the departure of long-time servant, Klay Thompson, but it wasn’t that long ago when they flirted with the idea of somehow finding a way to bring LeBron James over from the L.A. Lakers to team up with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and co.

However, nothing ever materialized, but league insider Mark Medina isn’t convinced that they would have engaged in serious conversations with the Lakers about trying to strike a deal for the 20-time All-Star even if he was available.

Warriors Still Far From Championship Contention
Re-signed Curry to an extension, added some additional shooting prowess
Stephen Curry Golden State warriors
It seems all but certain that Curry will see out his career with Golden State after he agreed to a one-year, $62.6 million extension, which sees him tied down to the franchise through the 2026-27 season, signifying his patience with the team as they undergo a period of transition after their dynasty virtually came to an end with the departure of Thompson to the Dallas Mavericks.

While they did go out and land a premier long-range sniper in Buddy Hield, seeing the two leading three-point shooters in the league over the last five seasons now suiting up in the same backcourt, in a sign-and-trade deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, there is now competition for the vacant guard spot.

This is because of Brandin Podziemski’s standout rookie season where he finished the year as the Warriors’ most efficient player on the team, in which he had a net efficiency of plus-5.9.

Brandin Podziemski vs. Buddy Hield (2023-24 Season)

Category
Brandin Podziemski
Buddy Hield

PPG
9.2
12.1

AST
3.7
2.8

REB
5.8
3.2

FG%
45.4
43.6

3{%
38.5
38.6

But with a lack of form last season from wing Andrew Wiggins – who looks more like the Minnesota Timberwolves version of Wiggins than the one that was pivotal in helping the Warriors win the title in 2022, and an aging Green, there are some concerns that Steve Kerr’s group lack that killer edge to put them into championship contention, especially with the rest of the Western Conference having built their rosters up to be even more competitive than ever before.

That could potentially be why the Warriors showed some interest in Lakers superstar James ahead of last season’s deadline, with the view that they could pair him and Curry up together and keep Golden State’s championship window firmly open, at least in the short-term.

However, this summer, with James entering free agency, it came to light that the 20-time All-Star’s agent, Rich Paul, had ‘quashed’ such talks, with him thinking about what that might do to his client’s legacy in the NBA.

Warriors Always Viewed As ‘Steph’s Team’, Even With Durant
Medina discussed how a potential move to the Warriors would have impacted James’ legacy around the league, likening it to that of Kevin Durant when he decided to make the switch to join a super team.

And, despite him winning back-to-back Finals MVP’s, holistically, the team was viewed as Curry’s team and not Durant’s, with the journalist believing the same would be said if James were to have ended up there.

It would have impacted it for sure. His resume stands on its own, but I think it would have further perpetuated that he’s joining another team.

As we saw with the Warriors and Kevin Durant, even though Kevin Durant was a really critical piece on why they won championships, and there’s a reason why he won Finals MVP, it was always viewed as Steph’s team because of how great of a talent Steph is and that he was a homegrown player.

I think the same thing would apply that if the Warriors won a title with Lebron, he wouldn’t have gotten the praise. But if they didn’t win a title with Lebron, he would have gotten the criticism.

Warriors Wouldn’t Have Felt It Was ‘Worth It’ To Bring James
Medina further stated that he felt that even though the Warriors were intrigued to see if James was somehow available, that they wouldn’t have seriously pursued such a deal, knowing that they would have had to have sacrificed a lot of their young players and draft picks for a player who is at the end of his career.

“Even though technically, the Warriors had some initial discussions about the Lakers and seeing if LeBron was available, I don’t think that had they had serious conversations, that this idea actually would have ever happened, because I don’t think the Lakers don’t want to trade LeBron. I don’t think LeBron wanted to leave.

But the other thing is that I don’t think the Warriors, even though they obviously love LeBron, Steve Kerr loved coaching LeBron, that they would have felt that it was worth it to get a generational talent that’s really at the end of his career, at the sacrifice of all of our draft picks and young players.”

Glimpses of What Could Have Been
James and Curry helped lead Team USA to gold in Paris

Two of the greatest to ever suit up in the NBA, with James the leading scorer in the history of the Association, and Curry, the leading three-point shooter, have been opponents for the majority of their careers, except in the year of 2024, where they each were part of Team USA for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

There, we saw a partnership unfold, with the two’s chemistry being evident from the jump. But, it wasn’t until the knockout stages of the tournament on their run to the gold medal when, together, the duo really started to dominate the spotlight.

In their semi-final bout against a stout Serbian defense, at one point there was fear that their time had run out, with the Nikola Jokic-led side on the course of a shock upset.

But, as Curry has shown many, many times in the past, the game isn’t over until the final buzzer sounds, and he wasn’t about to let his gold medal dream slip away so easily.

LeBron James and Steph Curry – 2024 Paris Olympics

Category
LeBron James
Steph Curry

MIN
24.5
23.3

PTS
14.2
14.8

REB
6.8
3.2

AST
8.5
2.5

FG%
66.0
50.0

3P%
30.8
47.8

He would explode for his tournament-high 36 points on 12-for-19 shooting from the field, including making nine of his 14 attempts from three-point range, while he also finished the contest with eight rebounds.

James, who was the only other player to join Curry in playing 30-plus minutes, would record a 16 point, 12 rebounds, 10 assists triple-double, which ultimately saw Team USA come away with a narrow 95-91 victory in what was the first time that they were properly tested in their Olympic campaign.

Sealing a place in the gold medal match-up against hosts, France, led by Victor Wembanyama, the pair would once again lead the way, alongside serial winner Kevin Durant, with Curry going for 24 points, shooting 66.7 percent from downtown from his 12 attempts, while James posted 14 points, 10 assists, six rebounds, two steals and a block to secure both an Olympic MVP award, and Team USA’s fifth consecutive gold medal.

While the basketball world finally got to see James and Curry as teammates, and what a spectacle it was, unfortunately, it looks very unlikely that we will ever see them play for the same NBA team in what remains of their stellar careers, which may have some teams around the league feeling fortunate about.

And for James individually, it sees his legacy as one of the greatest to ever play the game of basketball, remain intact.

All statistics courtesy of Statmuse, ESPN, NBA.com and Basketball Reference.