The Warriors haven’t given up hope of trading for LeBron James and teaming him with Stephen Curry, according to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (subscription required). Sources tell Fischer that Golden State has reached out to the Lakers on multiple occasions over the past 18 months to work out a deal, but has come up empty.
James and Curry played together at the Paris Olympics last August, combining their talents to capture a gold medal for Team USA. Coach Steve Kerr was in charge of that team, and the Warriors would like to create that same dynamic in the NBA.
Even though there are persistent rumors that James might be headed elsewhere after picking up his $52.6MM player option in June, Fischer points out that it would be tough for Golden State to put together a trade proposal that matches salaries without tearing apart the core of the roster. He adds that also holds true if Giannis Antetokounmpo were to ask out of Milwaukee.
There’s more from the Pacific Division:
- Augustas Marciulionis chose the Lakers over the Bucks for his first NBA opportunity, according to BasketNews. The son of former NBA player Sarunas Marciulionis signed an Exhibit 10 contract in July and will be in L.A.’s training camp next month. “The attention was similar from both teams,” he said. “But in Los Angeles, there were more people my agent and I knew and trusted. We understood the situation better there. For some reason, L.A. just felt like the right choice. Still, it wasn’t easy because I don’t know that much about the NBA environment yet. But we thought this was the best place for me.” The 23-year-old point guard, who played at St. Mary’s, was dealing with a broken foot during the pre-draft process.
- Devin Booker is expected to carry more of the Suns‘ offensive load with Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal gone, so Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic examines whether he can average 30 points per game. Booker scored 25.6 PPG last season with uncharacteristically low shooting numbers, so Rankin believes 30 PPG is well within reach if he takes at least 20 shots per night, goes to the free throw line more often, improves his three-point efficiency and gets more easy baskets in new head coach Jordan Ott‘s offense.
- In a separate story, Rankin states that trust was behind Ott’s decision to hire Sean Dwyer as an assistant coach after they worked together at Michigan State.