NBA Rumors: Warriors' LeBron James Trade Inquiry Spurred by Joe Lacob's Desire to Win

The Golden State Warriors' reported attempt to acquire Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James prior to the NBA trade deadline earlier this month was reportedly orchestrated by owner Joe Lacob.

According to ESPN's Baxter Holmes, Lacob consulted with forward Draymond Green prior to the inquiry, and although he was rebuffed, the interest Lacob showed in James was born from his "desire to keep the team competitive" during what Holmes calls a "critical phase."

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne first reported on the Warriors' bid for James, noting that Lakers owner Jeanie Buss, general manager Rob Pelinka and James himself all spurned the idea of a trade.

Over the past decade, the Warriors have been on one of the best runs in NBA history, winning four championships during an eight-year stretch from 2015 through 2022, while also reaching the NBA Finals on two other occasions during that timeframe.

The driving force behind the Dubs' success over the years has been the core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Green, as well as Kevin Durant who helped the Warriors win a pair of titles during his three-year run with the organization.

Curry, Thompson and Green are all still in Golden State and are playing key roles, while Andrew Wiggins, Jonathan Kuminga and the currently injured Chris Paul are important pieces of the puzzle as well.

Despite their talent, the Warriors are just 27-26 this season, which puts them in 10th place. If the regular season ended today, Golden State would occupy the final spot in the postseason play-in tournament.

The Warriors failed to make it out of the play-in tournament three seasons ago, bounced back to win the NBA title two seasons ago and then got ousted in the second round of the playoffs last season by LeBron and the Lakers.

L.A. finds itself in a position similar to Golden State this season, as it has gone through plenty of ups and downs and is currently. ninth in the Western Conference at 30-26.

Due largely to James and Anthony Davis missing time due to injury last season, the Lakers had to traverse the play-in tournament, but they still managed to reach the Western Conference Finals.

Because of that, the Lakers are likely comfortable with a similar path this season and weren't about to tear down their roster by trading away James.

Pairing LeBron with Curry would have made the Warriors massive threats to compete for a championship this season, but the Lakers are contenders as they currently stand as well with James and AD leading the way.

Curry continues to play at an MVP-caliber level, and his presence alone could make the Warriors dangerous come playoff time, but with Thompson playing well below expectations, it is somewhat difficult to envision Golden State going the distance.

The Warriors are a team built to win now, so it is tough to blame Lacob for taking a big swing and trying his hardest to pry James away from the Lakers in a last-ditch attempt at championship glory.