Early on Wednesday, the NBA world was in awe after ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported, citing sources, that the Warriors attempted to acquire four-time NBA champion and Los Angeles Lakers forward Lebron James before the Feb. 8 Thursday’s trade deadline.
Adding James to Golden State's core featuring fellow future Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame selections Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green arguably would’ve been the biggest trade in NBA history, especially considering the rivalrous history at play. Evidently, the Lakers weren’t interested.
In talking to The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami on "The TK Show” on Wednesday, Warriors owner Joe Lacob detailed Golden State’s desire to improve at the trade deadline and beyond, hinting at the possibility of acquiring a player like James without mentioning him.
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“As far as the reports, I’m not going to say anything about any specific player or anything,” Lacob told Kawakami. “I’m just going to tell you, you know, we’re aggressive and we’re looking at things all the time.”
The owner didn’t deny the reports regarding James but didn’t validate them. Regardless, Lacob emphasized that the Warriors aren’t shy to make a big-time move, as Golden State notoriously signed superstar Kevin Durant during the 2016 NBA free-agency period -- just months after facing him in the playoffs.
The signing of Durant serves as a precedent in the Warriors organization, as the team consistently aims to improve by any means necessary.
“We’re going to look at everything,” Lacob said. “When we acquired Kevin Durant many years ago, that was an incredibly aggressive move that we made. I think half our roster went away in order to accomplish [the deal]. Even though we had a really good team, we felt we could be better, and we [got better]. We went to three finals -- should’ve won all three, we did win two.
Golden State Warriors
“There are these inflection points. These times where sometimes players might be available, even if it’s something you might not have considered, you need to consider it. We’re always looking at everything. I tell Mike [Dunleavy Jr.] and Kirk [Lacob] Nothing is off the table -- nothing. If the deal’s right and the timing is right, we have consensus generally inside, then we got to consider these things.”
It’s difficult, yet enticing, to imagine James suiting up for the Warriors’ home Chase Center crowd. But with contracts expiring, an evolving CBA and careers and championship windows closing, one never can say never.
And with Lacob at the helm, the sky is the limit for the Golden State’s roster.