A few months ago, around the 2023-24 trade deadline situation, LeBron James and the Golden State Warriors caused a stir. The Bay Area franchise owner Joe Lacob reached out to Jeanie Buss, proposing a trade deal to rope in King James. However, it didn’t materialize after the superstar turned down the offer, leaving the LA fans in joy. But, the latest update from the center revealed that James turned down the offer, fearing the Kevin Durant ghost and not out of LA Lakers‘ ‘love’.
For the longest period, the Lakers nation felt that James stuck with the team out of love until Marc Stein pushed a dagger in their chest. The NBA contributor reported that James’ agent Rich Paul “adamantly opposed” the superstar from making a jump to the Bay, fearing “potential backlash for switching teams for the fourth time.” Basically, fearing a Kevin Durant-like situation – We’ll get to this later in the piece.
Dissecting the shocking update from Stein, Lakers Insider Trevor Lane highlighted crucial information that LA fans should make note of. But, before heading into the subject, Lane shed some light on LeBron James‘ latest trade clause. He added, “Under his new contract, he now has a trade clause that can certainly complicate things because it means if the trade is not to LeBron’s liking, he can just say, ‘No thank you’ and the trade is dead.”
Following that, Lane continued on James’ Warriors turn down, saying, “What we wanted to hear was, ‘LeBron loves the Lakers, he believes in their future, he believes in the front office… But now from Marc Stein, Rich Paul said ‘no’ because he didn’t want the backlash, not because he loves the Lakers, loves the LA. Maybe that stuff is still the case.”
Moreover, addressing the backlash, Lane said, “He didn’t want the backlash of LeBron switching teams again. When you think about the backlash that Kevin Durant got when he joined the GSW back in the day. It probably wouldn’t be that bad, but still, he didn’t want that kind of backlash.”
Will LeBron James join the Dubs despite the KD fear?
Firstly, let’s focus on Kevin Durant. The Slim Reaper became public enemy #1 when he ditched the OKC Thunder and joined hands with the overpowered Warriors. It’s been 8 years, and the hate doesn’t seem to have reduced. The 2x champ still received hate on social media for jumping teams throughout his career.
Notably, KD has switched two teams since his Warriors trade. And LeBron James has changed three teams in his career so far and the Dubs’ switch would make him on par with Durant.
Nevertheless, looking at the equation after the Paris Olympics, it seems like James would pair up with Stephen Curry rather than the Warriors. Interestingly, Steph hasn’t availed his one-year extension eligibility and will enter free agency the next summer. If the stars align, the NBA world may witness something special. A pair-up between King James and Steph in an entirely different franchise. And maybe even a Big 3 scenario where Kevin Durant joins the duo. Will this come true? Let us know in the comments below.
Before leaving, do watch the Dual Threat Show hosted by BG12 where Bulldogs’ Asia Avinger details her experience with Kobe Bryant, her WNBA ROTY picks, and more in the video below.
