LeBron James and Stephen Curry have been linked to one another throughout their Hall-of-Fame careers. Once known to be a bitter rivalry when Curry's Golden State Warriors faced off against James' Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals for four straight seasons from 2015-18, these two superstars have formed a very strong friendship. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. This accurately describes the relationship Steph and LeBron had with one another. Now, after winning a gold medal together at the 2024 Olympics in France, James and Curry joining forces in the NBA has once again become a key conversation starter.
The NBA has changed. Teams are more cognizant of the way they spend money due to the financial restrictions of the first and second tax aprons, and sustaining success, like the Cavs and Warriors did not too long ago, has become rare.
Regarding Curry and James, there is no telling how much longer each player has. No matter what, these two are bona fide first-ballot, unanimous Hall of Famers that will forever be remembered for the way they changed the game. However, their stories are not yet finished.
James is now 39 years old and entering his 22nd NBA season. Many have speculated that he will retire after the 2025-26 NBA season, his 23rd season, which would equal his iconic No. 23 jersey. Curry is 36 and entering his 16th season with the Warriors. While nobody would be surprised to see either star hoist the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy into the air one last time before retirement, such a feat would be impressive given where their respective organizations currently find themselves.
The Lakers, who last won a title in 2020, hired first-year head coach and former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick this offseason after back-to-back winning seasons under Darvin Ham, including a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2023. Even though Los Angeles won the first-ever NBA In-Season Tournament last season, it is hard to envision them going on a championship run entering the 2024-25 season.
Much of the same could be said about Curry and the Warriors, as massive roster changes have taken place. Klay Thompson left the team in free agency after spending all 13 years of his career with Golden State, and Chris Paul is no longer around either. Curry and Draymond Green remain, and the Warriors are still fixated on attempting to capture their fifth championship since 2015. However, the Warriors missed the playoffs last season for the second time in the last four years. Of course, those missed playoff appearances are wrapped around the team's most recent title in 2022.
Amid all of the success James and Curry have found throughout their respective careers, the narrative surrounding each player this offseason has been about potential trades they could be involved in. The Lakers are not going to be trading LeBron, and the Warriors are not trading Steph, but could either star want a change of scenery? More importantly, could NBA fans finally get the team-up they have been hoping for between James and Curry?
At the end of the day, this is something that James will have to make a decision about.
Rich Paul's involvement in potential LeBron James trade
It is hard to believe that LeBron and Steph would ever be on the same roster as one another. At the same time, this is a scenario that certainly had a little bit of momentum during the 2023-24 season when the Warriors began putting together a plan to pursue James in a trade.
With the Lakers struggling and the Warriors searching for answers at the trade deadline last season, Golden State owner Joe Lacob and his team's leadership began seriously considering the idea of putting together a legitimate trade package for LeBron. Although their bid and pitch to Los Angeles was unsuccessful, the Warriors still tried to pursue LeBron and pair him with Curry and Green.
The Lakers held no interest in trading James, but that is not necessarily where these quick trade talks fell apart.
LeBron appeared to be open to the idea. The Lakers, who didn't want to trade James, were willing to talk with the superstar and get an idea of what he wanted to do before definitively turning down Golden State's offer. The Warriors were serious about their efforts to pursue the league's all-time leading scorer. But it was Rich Paul, LeBron's best friend and agent, who quickly silenced these discussions.
Paul was not a fan of the notion that James could go from Los Angeles to Golden State, and he was concerned about the backlash this would create for LeBron if he were to join the Warriors, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. If James were to join the Warriors, this would be the fourth time in his illustrious career that he would have switched teams. Since he already receives a lot of negative opinions from NBA fans for going from the Cavs to the Miami Heat, back to the Cavs, and then to the Lakers, Paul felt like it was in LeBron's best interest to remain in Los Angeles.
Ahead of the 2024-25 NBA season, it seems like Paul will maintain this position about his best friend. Of course, LeBron would entertain the idea of playing with Curry and Green to finish his career, especially if things went south for the Lakers quickly, but there are a lot of people that would need to give the green light for this to happen.
Still, no matter what anyone else says, this may be James' decision, and only James' decision, to make.
Will James, Curry team up before retirement?
Whether or not James and Curry truly want to play with one another on the same NBA team comes down to LeBron making the final decision. Even with Curry making it clear that the Warriors need to do what they can to keep this team as a contender, nobody around the league truly believes that he will leave.
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On the other side of things, James leaving the Lakers and finishing his career elsewhere, either to play with friends or to win a championship, is a very believable situation. After all, there have been a ton of rumors over the last few seasons regarding whether or not LeBron would seriously entertain offers from other teams after opting out of his previous contracts with the Lakers. Rumors aren't always true, but there is always some level of truth to things that get leaked around the league.
James contemplating his future and weighing all of his options is not only believable, but also factual. We can never rule out the possibility of James wanting to play alongside Curry and Green on the Warriors, especially since he controls his own fate.
This offseason, LeBron signed a two-year, $101 million contract to remain in Los Angeles. The catch with this new deal is that it is really a one-year contract since James has a $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season. Much like he did this past year, James will likely opt out of his contract after the 2024-25 season in order to create flexibility for his team yet again.
It is also worth mentioning that James controls his own fate with the Lakers since his new contract includes a true no-trade clause. What this means is that the 20-time All-Star has the final say in all trade discussions, and the team can't trade him without his approval. So, regardless of what Rob Pelinka and Rich Paul think, James could dictate and facilitate a trade to the Warriors if that is what he wants.
Still, the fantasy NBA fans have of Steph and LeBron teaming up on the Warriors to try and win a championship together before retiring is just that — a fantasy.
There is nothing to suggest that this is a route the Warriors are still exploring after briefly flirting with the idea at the trade deadline last season, and the Lakers have done everything they could this offseason to appease James. In addition to signing Redick as their new head coach, the Lakers also drafted Bronny James in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft.
If James was to leave Los Angeles in order to join Curry and Green, he would prove Paul right in the sense that NBA fans would once again find reason to bash one of the best players of all time simply because he swapped teams yet again. Never say never, but it is very likely that a scenario in which LeBron and Steph end up on the same team before they retire never comes true.
