(Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
At one point during the 2023-24 NBA season, the prospect of the Los Angeles Lakers trading superstar forward LeBron James to the Golden State Warriors seemed like something that could come to fruition before the NBA trade deadline in February.
Although it seems unheard of that James would get traded during his Hall-of-Fame-caliber career, the Lakers seemed to be going nowhere despite having him and fellow superstar Anthony Davis healthy and productive.
The Warriors seemed to be in the same position as the once-dominant team in the Bay Area couldn’t put it together, even though they added another future Hall of Famer to the roster in veteran point guard Chris Paul.
Unfortunately for Golden State, James’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, did what he could to make sure the deal never came to fruition, as he believed it would be bad for his close friend and client in terms of legacy, according to NBA insider Marc Stein via Legion Hoops.
REPORT: Rich Paul reportedly “implored the Warriors and Lakers to scrap the idea” of trading LeBron James to the Warriors last season, “largely because he wanted to insulate James from potential backlash over switching teams for the 4th time in his career.”
(via @TheSteinLine) pic.twitter.com/aobh6xugf4
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) August 18, 2024
As easily the most criticized superstar in the NBA today and perhaps ever, James and his representation have been extremely tactical in the moves made in the twilight of his career in the league, as the goal seems to be to go down as the best ever to do it in the NBA.
Ironically enough, the Lakers made moves over the course of the summer that seemed to be directed by Paul and Klutch Sports, with the team hiring James’ friend JJ Redick as the team’s new head coach and selecting his son Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Getting traded to the Warriors may have not been good optics, but the same can be said about these moves.
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