Lakers’ Rivals Considered Making Offer for LeBron James: Report

The Los Angeles Lakers should have a robust market for LeBron James if both parties part ways.

One of them is their Western Conference rivals Golden State Warriors, who dream of pairing James and Stephen Curry.

According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Ramona Shelburne, the Warriors revisited their thoughts about trading for the 40-year-old superstar after their failed attempt last year.

“A handful of teams — including the Golden State Warriors, who tried to trade for James in 2023-24 — considered again whether to make an offer, sources said,” Windhorst and Shelburne wrote on Friday, July 11.

LeBron Hints at Possible Trade Demand

Whether that dream pairing happens is up to James and, to a certain extent, the Lakers, who appeared ready to move on from him after not offering an extension.

“The Lakers had already made their statement in not offering James a contract beyond this season,” Windhorst and Shelburne wrote. “It was abundantly clear that the 21-time All-Star’s time as the face of the Lakers had, for the first time, a planned end date, even if James’ record-setting NBA career did not yet.”

In response to the Lakers’ pivot, James issued a veiled threat through his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul.

“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Paul told ESPN on June 29. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.

The Lakers have pivoted from James and shifted their priorities to their new franchise star Luka Doncic.

The much younger Doncic arrived at the trade deadline in a shocking swap for James’ close friend, Anthony Davis and fellow Klutch Sports client.

“We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”

What Warriors Can Offer Lakers?

Getty Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James could be traded for Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III.

If James indeed asks for a trade — if he finds the additions of Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia not sufficient for a championship run — the Warriors can become the Lakers’ easiest trade partner, according to Fred Katz of The Athletic.

Katz singled out Jimmy Butler as the Warriors’ obvious salary match for James.

“Butler makes a tad more than James does, marking the trade legal, though if it were constructed this way, it would hard cap the Lakers at the first apron, since they’d be absorbing more money than they send out in a deal. If the Lakers were fine with that, they could execute the one-for-one trade,” Katz wrote on July 2.

And even if the Lakers want to duck the first apron, roping in a third team would still be easier to execute for them and the Warriors.

“Golden State and Los Angeles could find a third team willing to take on one of the Lakers’ minimum salaries (say, Jordan Goodwin’s) without giving any salary back. This way, the total money leaving the purple and gold is above Butler’s incoming salary,” Katz wrote.

The Warriors have plenty of second-round picks to incentivize a team with cap room to absorb Goodwin’s $2.4 million salary.

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