The Golden State Warriors made major waves last week after it came out that they tried to trade for LeBron James prior to the NBA's Feb. 8 trade deadline.
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While the potentially blockbuster trade was never something the Lakers considered accepting, the fact that Warriors owner Joe Lacob wanted to shake up his squad's roster so drastically says a lot about how Lacob considers his mid-tier team.
A recent report from ESPN's Baxter Holmes analyzed the failed James trade — which includes him asking Lacob what went into him angling to make such a seismic move.
While Lacob didn't address the trade directly, he did assert that he isn't content with anything less than a championship-level product.
"I'm not going to comment on something I can't comment on, but, in general, I just want to win," Lacob said. "We just want to win. We want to be the best, and we're going to try whatever tactic it takes to get there. I am not here to screw around. We are not here to screw around. We are not here to be just 'some team.' We're not going to do that. We may fail. Everyone fails. We may fail occasionally, but it will not be for lack of trying."
One has got to respect Lacob's commitment to winning at all costs (literally) — which certainly isn't a sentiment that's shared by every NBA owner.
While the Warriors are 28-26 this season, the eye test makes it clear that they aren't truly close to contending for their fifth NBA championship since 2015.
Lacob doesn't want to waste what might be the final few seasons of having an all-time great like Steph Curry on his roster, along with fellow future Hall of Famers Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
"That we had these three great players that wanted to try to continue to win right away," Lacob said. "They're a factor. The coaching staff is a factor in all of that. Then you have an owner — and, quite frankly, I'm very involved — who doesn't want to ever be in the lottery, ever. We don't want to be bad."
So although the James trade didn't work out, Lacob is clearly still fully invested in winning right now — which might even mean Golden State trying to sign Giannis Antetokounmpo this summer.
The Warriors' 'dream scenario' superstar this summer is Giannis Antetokounmpo, per @ShamsCharania.
If the Bucks fall short of their title goals, these rumors could go crazy 👀 pic.twitter.com/OTTCOT3ePM
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 19, 2024
Perhaps we can't call it quits on the Warriors dynasty quite yet.
