Aside from a bright 4-1 start to the season, the Golden State Warriors have been nothing but an average basketball team through the first now 33 games.
It's been such a mediocre period that it was almost inevitable that the idea of trading for LeBron James would do the rounds again. The Warriors have flirted with it in the past, which combined with their current 17-16 record makes it a discussion everyone could see coming.
Warriors trade idea for LeBron James again hits the headlines
Notable NBA analyst Bill Simmons has reopened the conversation, suggesting recently on his podcast that a Jimmy Butler for James trade would be good for not only the Warriors and the Los Angeles Lakers, but also for the league in general.
“I was just thinking, how do you make the league more fun? You have a team that nobody's excited about with the Lakers and a team that feels dead with the Warriors. LeBron for Jimmy Butler. That's it, Simmons said.
The deal is hypothetically possible given the contracts of both star players, but the question must be asked whether James is now enough of a difference-maker to add offensive impetus to a Warrior team that as Simmons essentially put it, is going nowhere as presently constructed.
James missed the first 14 games of the season due to a sciatic injury that current Golden State veterans Al Horford and Seth Curry have since faced, with the 4x MVP having seen his numbers dip slightly upon his return in year 23.
After finishing sixth in MVP last season at 24.4 points and 8.2 assists per game, James is currently putting up 20.5 points and 6.7 assists while shooting just 31.7% from 3-point range. The 41-year-old also has a -2.8 net rating on the season, ranked last of any Laker player on the current roster.
As Simmons puts it though, perhaps it's less about whether the move actually catapults the Warriors into any level of contention, and more just about the enjoyment of Curry and James sharing the floor together on the same team.
They did it with great success at the 2024 Olympics in Paris, leading Team USA to the Gold Medal after vintage performances from Curry in the last two games. Perhaps the Warriors can look to recreate such success, though you'd think the front office's first priority would be to upgrade the roster while retaining Butler.