As the 2024-25 season draws near, NBA fans and experts are getting more creative with their potential trade ideas. In the latest potential trade scenario by Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus, Steph Curry and LeBron James join forces on the Lakers in a blockbuster 4-team deal.
"The following four-team trade is the best approximation of what it would take to get Curry to Los Angeles, and while it may be improbable, it's not technically impossible:"
Lakers get: Stephen Curry, Day'Ron Sharpe, Wendell Moore Jr, $3.9 million trade exception (Jalen Hood-Schifino).
Warriors get: Austin Reaves, Ben Simmons, 2029 unprotected first-rounder (via Lakers), 2031 unprotected first-rounder (via Lakers), $2.4 million trade exception (Curry).
Nets get: D'Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, Jalen Hood-Schifino, $23.3 million trade exception (Simmons), $2.0 million trade exception (Dennis Schröder)
Pistons get: Dennis Schröder, 2025 LA Clippers second-rounder (via Lakers), 2025 Miami Heat second-rounder (38-59, via Nets), $4 million (via Lakers).
The Lakers would be the ultimate winners of this trade. With LeBron James at 39 years old and heading toward retirement, they need something big in order to reclaim their status as title contenders. As one of the top point guards in NBA history, Stephen Curry would certainly raise the ceiling for the Lakers and it's no secret the Lakers have tried to acquire him in the past.
Just last season, Rich Paul shot down trade talks that would have united the pair on one team but after bonding at the Olympic games this summer, it's reasonable to think that James and Curry might still be interested in finishing their careers together.
As two legends of the game, a LeBron James and Stephen Curry team-up would be legendary and it would put the Lakers in a position to compete for the title like they did back in 2020 with Davis and James in their prime.
For the Warriors, losing Curry (a 4x champion) would mark the end of their glorious dynasty but they would get some value in return. Besides young league sharpshooter Austin Reaves, the Warriors would also get a crack at Ben Simmons, who was once an All-Star for the 76ers. At 28 years old, Simmons may still have a redemption arc in his future and a place on the Warriors could be the fresh start he needs to rehabilitate his career. If not, the Warriors would still have an abundance of draft picks to build their future around.
Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, the Nets would welcome back one of their own. The hypothetical trade has former All-Star D'Angelo Russell reuniting with his former team in a package that includes Rui Hachimura, Gabe Vincent, and Jalen Hood-Schifino. Since they're only giving up draft picks and role-players in the trade, it's a reasonable return for a Nets team that is nowhere close to contention.
Finally, as the team to give up the least in this deal, the Pistons would only get a return of Dennis Schroder and a few draft picks. Obviously, it wouldn't do much to help them win games but it will give them the resources needed to continue their rebuild and use the draft to build a more competitive team.
It's no secret that 4-team trades are extremely rare in the NBA, and for good reason. They are hard to pull off and rarely work to the benefit of all sides involved. In this deal, however, each team gets what they need without giving up an unfair amount of assets. Most importantly, it gives two of the game's greatest players a chance to compete together for one last championship run.
