Warriors GM reacts to LeBron James’ alleged recruitment of Stephen Curry

A rumor floated this week by a prominent NBA insider raised some eyebrows across the league, and now one of the parties that would be impacted by the speculation has sounded off on it.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN suggested earlier this week that LeBron James allegedly initiated recruitment efforts on Stephen Curry at the 2021 NBA All-Star Game last month. Windhorst opined that James put on a “full-court press” in a bid to lure the Golden State Warriors sharpshooter to the Los Angeles Lakers when he becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2021-22 season.

“I thought it was hilarious over All-Star Weekend, LeBron praising Steph up and down … how much he loves his game, how much he respects him,” Windhorst said on his “The Hoop Collective” podcast. “LeBron has obviously put the full-court press on, not the full-court press, but LeBron has obviously begun the recruiting of Steph, just in the event that he wouldn’t extend and that somehow he would become a free agent and that the Lakers would have a swing at him.”

Windhorst’s reporting was met with widespread skepticism — even mockery — and the speculation was practically disregarded entirely, which is interesting in and of itself given the NBA insider’s reputation and pedigree.

That being said, the rumors did reach the ears of Warriors general manager Bob Myers, who unsurprisingly summarily dismissed any such notion that Curry is on his way out anytime soon, if ever.

“We’re never going to stop hearing it,” Myers said of gossip involving Curry, via Tim Kawakami of The Athletic. “It doesn’t matter if a guy signs an extension anymore, whether it’s one of our guys or any guy. The drumbeat never stops. … I think rumors like that or any rumor about a great player, they’ll always be there as long as the player’s great.”

Curry has spent his entire 12-year career with the Warriors, and the widespread assumption is that the superstar will one day retire as a member of the organization having never played for another NBA team.

Myers believes that despite an awful 2019-20 campaign and the team on the fringes of postseason contention this season with Klay Thompson again out for the year that the Warriors have the pieces in place to reassert themselves as a championship contender. What’s more, Myers thinks Curry has bought into the team’s vision as well.

“But all we can do is make our place of work somewhere people show up and feel like they can compete,” Myers added. “I think Steph’s felt like we’ve given him a really good chance in his time and career to compete individually and team-wise. And that’s what we’re going to keep trying to do. … What I would say: I think Steph’s happy. I think he’s in a good place. I think things are going to be fine with him.”

In other words, just because there's smoke doesn't necessarily mean there's a fire, at least in this case.