Rich Paul, the agent of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, recently shut down trade speculation involving the future Hall of Famer and the Golden State Warriors.
Lakers Rumored To Trade LeBron James
During Thursday’s episode of Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul, Kellerman cited a recent rumor by The Ringer’s Bill Simmons that Golden State could potentially move James.
Kellerman presented the idea of a trade that would send James to the Warriors in exchange for Jimmy Butler, but Paul believes it’s not an interesting proposal worth talking about.
“Because I don’t like to get into that,” Paul said after Kellerman commented that he hadn’t explained why it’s not a realistic trade. “It’s not going to happen. So why are we talking about things that are not going to happen?”
Kellerman then added, “The Lakers have to understand… they’re not going anywhere. Lakers aren’t going anywhere. Sorry, Lakers fans. … It’s because they have clearly given the franchise to Luka [Doncic].”
Warriors Have Been Interested In James
James, 41, has been linked to the Warriors for nearly two years now.
NBA insider Jake Fischer of The Stein Line reported in August that Golden State had contacted the Lakers “on multiple occasions over the past 18 months” to express interest in a trade for James.
“As long as LeBron James’ future in Los Angeles remains uncertain, Golden State will undoubtedly be mentioned as a potential James suitor,” Fischer wrote.
“I’m told that the Warriors have called the Lakers on multiple occasions over the past 18 months to see whether there is any trade pathway to pairing James with Stephen Curry, who roughly a year ago at this time was teaming with LeBron for the United States senior men’s national team on its run to a gold medal at the Paris Olympics.”
In addition, when Adrian Wojnarowski worked for ESPN alongside current NBA insider Ramona Shelburne in February 2024, the pair reported that Golden State called the Lakers about trading for James.
However, Paul informed the Warriors then that James wasn’t interested in getting dealt.
LeBron made NBA history when he finally made his season debut on Nov. 18. The four-time MVP became the first player to appear in 23 seasons, surpassing Vince Carter (22).
James, who missed the start of the 2025-26 season due to sciatica, is averaging 20.3 points per game through 15 appearances this season. He’s also shooting 49.6% from the field and 31.5% from 3-point territory.
