Pursuing James, Warriors exposed chips, Lakers expressed their attitude, Dunleavy made the wrong plan

According to well-known reporter Fischer, Warriors owner Joe Lacob has long had a passionate dream and is eager to recruit LeBron James to San Francisco. As early as before the 2024 NBA trading deadline, he actively and prudently launched a series of pursuit actions. Until now, the Golden State Warriors management is still exploring the possibility of obtaining LeBron James through trades. On August 23, 2025, the Lakers' well-known reporter Yowan Buha responded to the matter on a podcast program. He pointed out that it is not new for the Warriors to show interest in James, and they expect James to join hands with Stephen Curry to play in the arena. However, James' future full of uncertainty is also a factor that must be considered. From the Lakers' standpoint, they set their own bottom line. The Lakers will only have a deep conversation with James and his agent Ritchie Paul after they agree to start negotiations. Since James's side did not make concessions, these transaction discussions ultimately failed to make substantial progress.

Given that the Warriors have never been able to properly resolve the entanglement with Moses Kumingga, the No. 7 pick in the first round is likely to become the main bargaining chip for management to trade. However, both sides are reluctant to give up their initiative easily on key issues, which makes it difficult for Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy to advance subsequent operations. Instead of letting Kumingga get cheaper for the Sacramento Kings, it is better to make a big gamble and try to introduce James.

This summer, the Warriors' operations were in full swing and extremely unsmooth. The matters related to Kumingga are like a complicated mess, delayed for a long time without any substantial progress. Under such a dilemma, the Warriors released some news about exploring the possibility of James' trade with the Lakers. To some extent, this move contains many considerations. On the one hand, this can make fans feel that "the management is not doing nothing and is still trying to work hard to win the championship." As a vital support force for the team, fans pay great attention to the team's development and performance.

On the other hand, this also plays a role in diverting attention. The matter of Kumingga has been delayed for a long time, which has attracted widespread attention and many speculations from the outside world, bringing considerable public pressure to the Warriors. By releasing news about the deal with James, the media and fans' focus will shift away from the Kumingga incident and focus more on this potential big deal. In this way, the Warriors can continue to deal with Kumingga's problems in a relatively relaxed public opinion environment to avoid excessive interference from the outside world.

But for the Warriors, it is more of a "positioning" behavior. The Warriors' current lineup has built its own core system, and players such as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green form the solid skeleton of the team. Although introducing James can enhance the overall strength of the team at the theoretical level, it will also bring about a series of difficult problems. The team's tactical system needs to be adjusted significantly, and the chemical reactions between players need to be re-established. Moreover, James' high salary is also a burden that cannot be ignored, which may adversely affect the team's future salary space and signing operations. So the Warriors may not actually be planning to finish the deal.