LeBron Reportedly Wanted to Play With Steph Curry, Just Not With the Warriors

The Golden State Warriors spent their summer chasing LeBron James in free agency. They swung. They missed. And now they’re stuck figuring out what’s next with a roster that looks nothing like the dynasty that rattled off four championships in eight years.

According to Anthony Slater of ESPN, LeBron’s interest in joining forces with Steph Curry came with a major catch. He wanted to play with Curry somewhere else. Anywhere else. Just not in a Warriors uniform.

“I had a source tell me they think LeBron would’ve been more interested in playing with Steph Curry elsewhere away from the Warriors than actually going to the Warriors, just because of the history,” Slater said, as shared by Underdog NBA on X.

That history is complicated. From 2015 through 2018, LeBron’s Cavaliers and Curry’s Warriors met in four straight NBA Finals. Those series produced legendary moments, deep animosity and a rivalry that defined the decade. The idea of LeBron suddenly pulling on Golden State’s blue and gold apparently didn’t sit right with him, even now at 39 years old.

Both players have talked publicly over the years about the appeal of teaming up. LeBron has praised Curry’s game repeatedly. Curry has done the same. But there’s a difference between dreaming about playing together and actually doing it under the banner of the team that beat LeBron three times on the biggest stage.

Where That Leaves the Warriors

Golden State’s offseason plan basically hinged on landing LeBron. They structured their moves around it. They made calls. They cleared cap space. They thought they had a real shot.

Now they don’t. And the options left are thin.

Draymond Green re-signed on a new deal Tuesday, per Shams Charania of ESPN. That’s fine. But even if you imagine a world where Curry, Green, Jimmy Butler and Kristaps Porzingis all stay healthy at the same time — which feels like asking for a miracle — it’s hard to see this roster hanging with teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder or San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference.

The Warriors bet everything on one player. That player said no. Now they’re left with a roster that isn’t bad, but isn’t good enough to scare anyone either. And in the loaded West, that’s a real problem.

Golden State’s schedule for next season drops sometime next month. They’ll have to play those games with the team they’ve got, not the one they wanted.