There has been recent discussion about a possible NBA partnership involving Stephen Curry and LeBron James. A conversation about a James-Curry duo surfaced last season, suggesting that the former be dealt to the Golden State Warriors.
This time, the potential trade puts James under Steve Kerr’s system. However, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith isn’t the biggest fan of having the 6-foot-9 star joining Curry and the Warriors. On Tuesday’s episode of “First Take,” Smith talked about why he doesn’t want to see a team-up of the two stars in Golden State.
“As a fan, visually speaking, LeBron with Steph Curry would be special,” Smith said.
“I don’t wanna see it because LeBron James does not deserve it, absolutely not. James does not deserve to be with Steph Curry. Here’s why: Stay your a** right there in LA. You won a championship in the Bubble. I understand the next year you lost in the first round. You had Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, you had a Kyle Kuzma, you had a Montrezl Harrell, you had an Alex Caruso. What do you do? You let all those cats go away cause you wanted your boy Russell Westbrook.”
“He did not look good with the Lakers. You wanted that, you LeBron James. A lot of the mobility that the Lakers could’ve exercised if you had some of those pieces is sometime that derailed this franchise.”
"I don't want to see it because LeBron James does not deserve it."
— Stephen A. Smith on LeBron James & Stephen Curry playing on the same NBA team
(🎥 @FirstTake) pic.twitter.com/MeiSC0cBxD
— Ahn Fire Digital (@AhnFireDigital) December 10, 2024
Instead, Smith wants James to stay with the Los Angeles Lakers.
“We get so caught up with his greatness as a player, that we don’t pay enough attention to the power of his influence and the moves that he compels to make that serves to derail a franchise like he did in Los Angeles… stay your a**right there in Southern California with Anthony Davis and figure it out.”
Over the summer, fans saw James and Curry team up together for Team USA. With the two stars, the national team won the gold medal.
ESPN analyst wants to see LeBron James and Stephen Curry together
While Smith has expressed that he isn’t the biggest fan of having LeBron James play with Stephen Curry, ESPN’s Michael Wilbon is open to the idea. For others, they want Curry to join the Lakers. However, Wilbon proposes the other way around, with James joining the Warriors.
Michael Wilbon believes the Warriors should trade for LeBron in order to maximize their NBA title window with Steph 🤔https://t.co/y1rZnNGyfh
— NBC Sports Bay Area & CA (@NBCSAuthentic) December 7, 2024
Given that the Lakers have not played well this season, the ESPN analyst believes having James join the Warriors would be a better fit.
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Reign also writes NBA and WNBA news updates on Sportskeeda. He started as a feature writer for AirAlamo, an NBA website that covers the San Antonio Spurs. Some of his work can also be seen with Valley of the Suns, a Phoenix Suns-centric website, where he served as a contributing writer.
