LeBron James is one of just two players in the NBA to hold a full no-trade clause in his contract. Along with Bradley Beal, James is one of the hardest players to trade from a technical standpoint due to this simple fact. The Los Angeles Lakers are also not exactly trying to get rid of him.
But especially in light of the events of the last few days, we have to keep in mind that anything can happen between now and the NBA's trade deadline this coming Thursday. There is no guarantee that LeBron or anyone on the Lakers' roster will be around by this time next week, and the latest intel serves to remind us of that.
Bleacher Report's Jake Fischer is well-connected around the association, and he released a new report on Monday morning (subscription required). In his report, Fischer detailed how there could still be more moving parts of note to Lakers fans ahead of the deadline.
He writes: As of this writing, James has shown no indication that he is willing to waive his no-trade during this season, league sources told The Stein Line. However ... There are certainly teams — Golden State chief among them, sources said — that have inquired whether that stance could change between now and Thursday's trade deadline.
The Warriors have inquired about whether LBJ would be open to a trade
This is part of a larger rumor that the Golden State Warriors could be trying to pull off a big move to pair Stephen Curry with both LeBron James and Kevin Durant. At this point in those respective players' careers, a move like this would not be nearly as big a needle-mover simply from a basketball perspective as it would have been, say, five or six years ago. But the name value is of course still there.
And regardless of what ends up happening, it is clear that the Warriors are doing everything they can to get another star player alongside the aging Curry. Golden State is going all-out in trying to salvage the end of their star's career, especially after the madness of the Luka Doncic trade.
All that is to say that chaos is reigning in the NBA right now. There should probably still not be any reasonable expectation that James is going to be moved, but it is also a concept that cannot be completely discounted due to these rumors.