A last-ditch trade effort to get Stephen Curry and LeBron James to team up and play together on the Lakers for the 2024-25 season.
The Los Angeles Lakers have had as quiet an offseason as possible, signing no free agents and making no personnel moves since drafting Dalton Knecht and Bronny James. The team’s two stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis, have been representing Team USA for the last month-and-a-half and have played an elite brand of basketball alongside players like Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant.
During the Olympics, media and fans loudly said what a lot of people think, based on the chemistry between LeBron and Curry – it would be great if those two legends teamed up and played together on the same team before their NBA careers ended.
As the team reckons with its status heading into the final month of the offseason, with training camp due to start in September, maybe the time LeBron and Davis spent with Curry tempts the 2022 Finals MVP into wanting a switch and join the Lakers to team up with them. This is a highly unrealistic situation, but the Lakers could conjure up a massive offer to throw a lifeline to the LeBron-Davis era of Lakers basketball.
Trade Details
Los Angeles Lakers Receive: Stephen Curry, Kevon Looney
Golden State Warriors Receive: D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jalen Hood-Schifino, 2025 First-Round Pick (LAL), 2029 First-Round Pick (LAL), 2031 First-Round Pick (LAL)
The Lakers will annihilate their depth, both in terms of future assets and rotational players. But no price’s enough when it comes to landing Steph Curry, especially when it’s to play alongside LeBron and Davis. This is an impossible situation, but if there was any scope for a Lakers trade for Curry, this would be in the ballpark of what the Lakers will have to give up to make it possible.
The Lakers Create An Insane Big Three
The NBA as a collective has started moving away from the concept of assembling big threes after seeing teams with great squad depth succeed as champions in recent seasons. While there are teams like the 76ers, Timberwolves, and Suns still relying on a big three to bring them success, most teams are hoping to do it through depth and high-quality role players.
The Lakers tried the high-quality role-players route in the last two seasons, so why not risk it all for arguably the second-biggest star of the modern era? Curry averaged 26.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 5.1 assists last season, carrying the Warriors to a 47-win record which wasn’t enough to take them to the Playoffs. After losing longtime teammate Klay Thompson this summer, Curry made it clear that he will not accept being at the bottom of the West.
If such a situation comes up, the Warriors will likely do right by Curry and send him to his preferred destination, while ensuring the Lakers pay a hefty price for a 36-year-old guard, even if he might be one of the greatest point guards ever.
Acquiring Looney will give the Lakers some big man depth and the option to play Anthony Davis at the four. With Austin Reaves and the recently extended Max Christie still on the roster, the Lakers will have options as to who they want in the backcourt with Curry while fielding a formidable starting five. The bench will be a major question mark, but when you can acquire a player of Curry’s caliber, you worry about that later.
The Warriors Draw The Curtain On The Greatest Era Of The Franchise
Moving off Curry will signify the end of the greatest stretch of basketball in Golden State’s history, as Steph brought the franchise four championships. while Andre Iguodala won one Finals MVP and Kevin Durant took two, Curry was the star and the glue that’s held this franchise together through it all. If he wants a change, they shouldn’t stop him. It’s a question of how they can maximize what they get in return for Curry.
Five players of mixed value isn’t ideal, but the Warriors could make it work. D’Angelo Russell will be a candidate to be moved on as an expiring contract that some team could have for the cheap, as Russell averaged 18.0 points and 6.3 assists last season. Rui Hachimura is young enough to fit into their frontcourt but will also be a trade candidate after averaging 13.6 points and 4.3 rebounds last season, proving he can be a role player on a winning team.
Jarred Vanderbilt had an injury-riddled season but is still one of the most intriguing young defenders in the NBA and someone who the Warriors could get value out of in the long term. Jalen Hood-Schifino is a point guard who would essentially be the only point guard prospect on the roster but is a former first-round pick who hasn’t gotten an opportunity in LA.
Vincent is a salary the Warriors have to eat, but they’ll try to move him on as well. The team could fully rebuild by breaking apart the roster and joining the tank for the stacked 2025 Draft Class. The picks are the real asset, as two of those picks will likely convey after all three LeBron, Curry, and Davis are retired or way past their prime.
Would This Even Work?
The team that LeBron James and Stephen Curry team up on while still both being All-NBA caliber players will be the talk of the NBA worldwide. When you add Anthony Davis to the mix, no matter what it costs in terms of future assets, the Lakers would be silly to pass up on that.
Three star players in three different positions is the ideal model, with Curry and LeBron further complementing each other as James is a point forward and Curry thrives in creating space for himself off the ball. Their partnership was magical on Team USA and will likely lead to several more such moments in the NBA.
The likelihood and feasibility of the Warriors electing to start their rebuild like this is next to none. Curry still has two years on his contract left, so the Warriors are under no pressure to move him, especially to division rivals like the Lakers. It’ll test what the franchise is willing to do to thank Curry for his efforts, as this would be a very tall task for them to execute.
On the court, the Lakers could definitely find enough pieces to surround their big three along with players such as Reaves, Christie, Knecht, Looney, and more. They’ll have a very playable rotation left behind, though it may swing through inconsistencies of having two aged stars lead the squad.
Nonetheless, it’s a deal that would make the Lakers froth and the Warriors squirm, so a deal would be hard to come by. If it did happen, it would most definitely work, as players of this caliber find a way to make it work.
