Back in Feb 2024, ESPN revealed that talks of a possible LeBron James trade to the Golden State Warriors were in process, amongst the front offices. Many scratched their heads, trying to fathom two words, ‘What even’? However, after months of speculation over why the deal faltered, it’s now being revealed that Rich Paul reportedly shut down the idea. However, having team-upped with Steph Curry in Team USA, Bron and his agent may once again be looking at whether the door is still open. Fortunately, it still is!

NBA Insider, Trevor Lane, highlighted that after the successful Gold Quest in Paris, LeBron James may be open to abandoning his Purple and Gold contract. However, with both franchises having currently crossed the first apron limit because of their excessive expenditure on salaries, a trade would be a tricky process. Thanks to a minimum contract possessed by a key Lakers All-Star, this tricky process can be made into a full-fledged reality. “If you are a first-tier apron team, you’re above that first-tier apron, you have to send out more salary than you take back in a trade,” Lane said.

Soon after, he continued on Lakers Nation, “But, in this case, because of the inclusion of Cam Reddish, who is on a minimum contract, and all of the numbers are just close enough to, just barely, squeak this one by, the Lakers can count Cam Reddish as ‘salary going out’ on their end. The Warriors can absorb him via a minimum exception and don’t have to count him as ‘salary coming on’ on their side. Which is just barely enough for technically both sides to send out more money than they’re receiving back in a trade.”

While the trade could still involve a 3-team deal, most likely with the San Antonio Spurs, Trevor Lane believes that Cam Reddish’s contract provides a loophole that Joe Lacob and the Warriors front office can make good use of. By adding Gabe Vincent and his $11 million salary for the 2024-25 season, the LA side can further sweeten the deal. However, from the Golden State, there is one player whose cooperation would be needed to make this legendary trade a reality: Andrew Wiggins.

Since the small forward still has two years left and can exercise his team option in the final year, he may not be too open to exiting the franchise. However, in his 4 seasons, the player has had to deal with several personal matters that affected his presence. While his recent family emergency, which made him miss the trip to China, fortunately, came during the off-season, these previous scenarios caused him to miss quite a couple of games during the last two seasons. They’ve been compassionate and sympathetic with the all-star’s dilemmas but may look to exchange him for a more efficient player in case a good offer comes their way.

In the case of Cam Reddish, after joining as a depth addition during the 2023-24 season, he had a good start, scoring in the double digits in his first 4 games. Later, however, he developed an ankle injury and couldn’t hit the same levels. By the time the Lakers‘ run ended, Cam had only secured an average score of 5.4 points,  2.1 rebounds, and 1 assist in 48 games. While he is just 24 and possesses skills to defend multiple positions and ‘stretch the floor’, his performances will require Jeane Buss and Co. to give this decision a hard think.

A recent report by Marc Stein shed light on how it was Rich Paul who opposed the LeBron James-Warriors trade in February. The agent reportedly felt that putting two of the greatest NBA players of the modern generation in one team would do more harm than good, and he wanted to “insulate James from potential backlash over switching teams for the 4th time in his career.”

After all, if there is anyone who should know the public backlash that comes from switching teams, it is the LeBron James from 14 years ago. However, during the 2024 Paris Olympics, both the 39-year-old and Stephen Curry came out as the lead scorers on Team USA, maintaining an efficiency rating of 23.5 and 14.5 respectively. Therefore, any thoughts about potential backlash have now been put on the backseat, prompting analysts from all sides to support this deal. After all, Trevor Lane isn’t the only voice in this matter.

Nick Wright proposes a 3-team-trade deal that aligns LeBron James and Stephen Curry with a Spurs star

Nick Wright was highlighting his theories on how LeBron James and Stephen Curry could finally be NBA teammates. Unlike the Lakers Nation reporter, however, the 39-year-old wants to include a third team that would solve the salary cap and first apron issues: the San Antonio Spurs. By neither favoring the Lakers nor the Warriors, the hypothetical deal would send both players to the Spurs, making the franchise not only Championship-worthy once again, but also aligning the star duo with Victor Wembanyama.

“I understand it’s not going to happen, but just so everyone knows, cap-wise, it could,” Wright said. “It gets LeBron, and Steph, and Wemby (Victor Wembanyama) all together, and the Lakers get Keldon Johnson and some decent picks. The Warriors get Devin Vassel, and some excellent picks.” Under Wright’s proposal, all future first-round picks would be unprotected, and King James and Steph would additionally have the experienced Chris Paul as their teammate.

Would you like to be a LeBron James-Stephen Curry team-up once again? Let us know in the comments down below.

Before you go, remember to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.