LeBron James, Cam Reddish and Bronny James for Andrew Wiggins, De’Anthony Melton, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, Gui Santos, a top-1 protected first-round pick in 2025 and a top-3 protected first-round pick in 2027

The idea of LeBron James and Stephen Curry eventually teaming up in the NBA has been floating around the dreams of plenty of fans for years, but it really went mainstream at the Paris Olympics this past summer.

The chemistry between the two was obvious. Their games fit seamlessly. LeBron was willing to defer to Curry as a scorer, while Curry trusted LeBron with the playmaking. And their two-man game was a significant factor in Team USA winning gold.

The Los Angeles Lakers willingly trading LeBron has always felt far-fetched, though. It still does. But the Golden State Warriors at least broached the subject with L.A. last season. And after an underwhelming start to 2024-25, maybe James would entertain the idea, too.

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported that the Warriors “have dreamed” about landing LeBron, but he also added that it’s “up to him,” thanks to his no-trade clause.

Anthony Irwin of ClutchPoints also poured a little of his own water on the idea, writing that the Lakers “will not seriously consider trading James,” before adding that his son, Bronny James, would likely have to be a part of any LeBron deal.

At this point, though, there’s enough smoke in the air for us to entertain this possibility and look at what a LeBron-to-the-Warriors deal might actually look like.

The framework above gives L.A. at least one movable contract to turn into more assets if this would just be the start of a rebuild. Andrew Wiggins is only making $26.3 million this season.

De’Anthony Melton, who’s currently out with a torn ACL, would likely be seen similarly. He’s obviously not going to help the Lakers this season, but his contract could be part of a subsequent deal to add more young talent or cap flexibility.

The big get here would obviously be the younger players. There’s reason to be high on both Jonathan Kuminga (his athleticism, defensive range and untapped playmaking potential) and Brandin Podziemski (his feel for the game and playmaking help him perform like a much more experienced player).

And though there are some protections on those first-round picks, they’re likely to convey. It’s hard to imagine many other teams surrendering multiple picks for a player who will be 40 this month.

As for the Warriors, this is a risk. They’re giving up depth, youth and picks for a player near the end of his career, a wing who’s played like an end-of-bench player throughout his career in Cam Reddish and a multi-year project (to put it kindly) in Bronny.

But Golden State has a point differential around that of a 64-win team when Curry is on the floor this season. He’s still good enough to be the scoring leader on a title contender. And LeBron unquestionably raises the short-term ceiling higher than any combination of Wiggins, Kuminga, Podziemski and Gui Santos does.

Lineups with him, Curry, Buddy Hield and Draymond Green could go toe-to-toe with just about anyone in the West.