NBA Trade Idea Moves LeBron James in Lakers-Warriors Blockbuster
If LeBron James requests a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers, one NBA writer proposed that the Golden State Warriors trade for the future Hall of Famer.
Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report proposed the following trade idea between the Warriors and Lakers:
Warriors get: LeBron James
Lakers get: Jimmy Butler, Quinten Post
The Warriors tried to trade for James in 2023. James and Golden State stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green are friends and James played with Curry and for Warriors head coach Steve Kerr last summer on Team USA.
“Pairing Curry and James together would be a treat for NBA fans and allow the latter to stay in California, just a short flight from his Los Angeles home,” Swartz wrote. “There’s a few different iterations of a trade between these franchises, as a straight Butler-James swap would work financially. Golden State could throw in one of its young centers (Trayce Jackson-Davis, Post) to help fill the void on the Lakers roster as well.
“The Warriors would be left with an aging yet still strong core of James, Curry, Green, Brandin Podziemski, Buddy Hield, Moses Moody and others to chase one final championship together.”
The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games, while the Warriors fell to the Timberwolves in the second round in five games.
James, 40, is the oldest player in the NBA, but he’s still one of the top offensive weapons in the league. The four-time MVP averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks for the Lakers last season and made the All-NBA Second Team.
The leading scorer in NBA history, James has a no-trade clause in his contract, so he’s in full control of his future. James picked up his 2025-26 player option with the Lakers worth $52.6 million.
After James picked up his 2025-26 player option with Los Angeles, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group issued the following statement to Shams Charania of ESPN:
“LeBron wants to compete for a championship. 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.
“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.”
Some people believe James could request a trade from the Lakers this offseason after reading Paul’s statement.
Only time will tell if James requests a trade for the first time in his legendary career.
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