The Los Angeles Lakers have always been a franchise built around its stars and their latest duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis has already brought them their 17th NBA Championship. But after a disappointing finish to this season, and with James being near the end of his career, talks of the team acquiring a third star are already ramping up and one big name who could soon be available is Golden State Warriors superstar point guard Stephen Curry.
The three-time NBA Champion and two-time MVP will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2022 season and there are some questions about whether or not he will choose to leave the only team he’s ever played for. There are even some rumblings that James is already hard at work in trying to convince Curry to leave Golden State and join him with the Lakers.
But that isn’t a concern for Warriors owner Joe Lacob. In an interview with Tim Kawakami of The Athletic, Lacob expressed a ton of admiration and respect for Curry to make any decision he chooses to when he does hit free agency next summer:
“Look, Steph Curry, if he really wanted to leave at the end of his contract, he’s a free agent, he’s earned the right, he can do it,” Lacob said. “I said that with Kevin Durant. I’m still friends with Kevin Durant and I still really like him. And I will always love him for what he did for this franchise. By the way, he took less money when he was here. He really helped us. We were able to get a couple of other players. … Players don’t usually do that and he did that. So I have great respect and admiration for that for Kevin. And I would for Steph no matter what he does, too. He’s done a lot for us, we’ve done a lot for him. I would hope that we provide the environment for him that he wants to be at for the rest of his.
But as far as James and the Lakers are concerned, Lacob doesn’t believe in that possibility at all:
“I’m certainly not worried about the guy you mentioned recruiting him. I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
The idea of bringing in Curry to pair with James and Davis would give the Lakers a trio to rival any in the history of the league. But whether or not that move is feasible remains to be seen.
Rob Pelinka will undoubtedly explore all options and having a recruiter as strong as James will only enhance his chances at landing any top player.
Lamar Odom believes Lakers need another star to play with James & Davis
Someone who would be on board with Curry, or any other star player joining the Lakers is Lamar Odom. The former Lakers big man who won two championships and a Sixth Man of the Year Award with the team recently spoke with TMZ Sports about the current state of the franchise after they were eliminated from the playoffs.
Odom believes James and Davis alone should be enough to keep the Lakers amongst the league’s elite, but adding that third player to the fold will only increase their odds and give them a little leeway should one of them get hurt.
Who knows whether Curry will be that player, but the Lakers will be looking long and hard at any way to improve their team this offseason.
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