Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James responded to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne’s story that the Golden State Warriors considered trading for him, telling the NBA on TNT team the following:
“It did not go far at all. I heard about it at the same time as everyone else. Obviously, Charles, Kenny, and Shaq have all been in the league, and there are some conversations that take place behind closed doors that you are not aware of. Until, I guess, they decide if it’s real or not and deliver it to you. But it never reached me, so I heard it after the reports were released as well.”
During an alternate broadcast of the All-Star Game, Warriors star Draymond Green expressed his opposition to the idea of trading Jonathan Kuminga for James, saying, “When I talked to Joe [Lacob] on the phone, and we were discussing what we’d have to give up, I said if it’s Kuminga, the answer is no.”
This trade notion has been proposed numerous times when people have put together hypothetical trade deals that would bring James to the Warriors, but Green is not on board. Despite being good friends with James, Green opposed the idea of trading Kuminga for the Lakers’ star.
It appears that the Warriors would not have made this deal anyhow, but it is always beneficial for a rookie player like Kuminga to have the support of proven veterans such as Green. James is currently with the Lakers.