Golden State Warriors Thought About Making Trade Offer to Los Angeles Lakers for LeBron James

After NBA legend LeBron James picked up his 2025-26 player option with the Los Angeles Lakers, his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, issued the following statement to Shams Charania of ESPN:

“LeBron James 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.”

After Paul’s statement, the Golden State Warriors considered whether to make a trade offer to the Lakers for James, according to NBA insiders Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

Many people believe James is open to leaving Los Angeles this offseason.

Arguably the greatest player in NBA history, James has a no-trade clause in his contract. If the forward requests a trade, the Lakers have to honor it.

The Warriors tried to trade for James during the 2023-24 NBA season. James has said several times that he would love to play with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.

A future Hall of Famer, James hasn’t requested a trade from the Lakers yet. However, it’s clear that Los Angeles is building for the future with Luka Doncic, who is only 26 years old.

James is 40 years old. He turns 41 in December and wants to compete for a title next season.

The Lakers don’t have a championship roster right now, so James should probably request a trade to a contending team.

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