The Los Angeles Lakers would prefer for LeBron James to retire with their illustrious franchise, a path that the 39-year-old seems to be on after signing a two-year contract with LA in the offseason.
Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors would like Stephen Curry to stay in the Bay Area, a place he’s called home since being drafted. The feeling is mutual. Curry signed a one-year contract extension with the crumbling dynasty this offseason, keeping him under team control through 2026-27.
If either player wanted to team up outside of the Olympics, they would probably have to diverge from their preferred plan. There’s no way that they could feasibly join forces otherwise. However, after Monday’s practice, James told reporters he has “no idea” whether he and Curry could be teammates again.
For those who watched James and Curry battle in the NBA Finals, this growing bromance is somewhere between strange and surreal.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise, as James is friends with a few of his supposed rivals behind the scenes, including Warriors mainstay Draymond Green. Furthermore, the two just won gold in a rather intense Olympic tournament. Nonetheless, if someone would’ve told a Warriors or Cleveland Cavaliers fan in the late 2010s, their sanity might’ve been questioned. Bragging rights, legacies, and hardware were all on the line when James and Curry met in the Finals.
Perhaps they still are, as there’s some debate about who has been the face of the NBA over the last decade.
Still, the Warriors put out feelers on a James trade ahead of last season’s deadline, which the Lakers entertained. On the flip side, Golden State has been a shell of itself in recent years, with Curry admitting that he’s open to leaving if their struggles continue. Both situations add legitimacy to the possibility the two eventually join forces.
It might not be Plan A for either the Lakers or Warriors, but it’s a situation worth monitoring.
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