The Golden State Warriors were in fact pursuing the Los Angeles Lakers’ All-Star forward prior to this year’s NBA trade deadline.

Leading up to this year’s February 8th NBA trade deadline, the Golden State Warriors surprised many by making a strong push to acquire Los Angeles Lakers All-Star forward LeBron James in a trade deal, sources revealed to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.

Given James’ stature in the league, he had the right of first refusal and ultimately declined the offer from his Pacific Division rivals, as reported by Wojnarowski.

According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN (via NBA Central), Draymond Green, a star power forward/small-ball center for the Warriors and a longtime friend of James, reached out to their mutual agent Rich Paul to explore the possibility of teaming up with James.

However, Paul promptly dismissed the idea, stating, “No that’s not going to happen,” as Windhorst added. Interestingly, the Lakers saw this inquiry as an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to James,

despite feeling content with their current roster and not liking the available trade options before the deadline. They believed in James’ loyalty and were confident that he wouldn’t leave them hanging, thus deciding to stick with their current roster and reassess in the summer.

In recent games, the Lakers have shown improvement since fully committing to forward Rui Hachimura in their starting lineup. Under Darvin Ham’s preferred starting group of D’Angelo Russell, Austin Reaves, Hachimura, James, and All-Star center Anthony Davis, the Lakers are undefeated (5-0) and have climbed to three games above .500 (29-26) for the first time since December.

Wojnarowski also mentioned that Golden State owner Joe Lacob went as far as contacting Lakers owner Jeanie Buss about a potential deal. However, Buss redirected Lacob to Paul, reflecting her priority of keeping her stars content, whether in Los Angeles or elsewhere.

While James joining the Warriors would have instantly elevated their championship aspirations, it didn’t come to fruition. As a result, both the Warriors, currently the tenth seed with a 26-25 record, and the Lakers, the ninth seed at 29-26, are striving to secure better playoff positions in the competitive Western Conference, with both teams aiming to avoid the play-in tournament.