Steph Curry Admits LeBron James Pairing 'Probably' Won't Happen amid NBA Trade Rumors

Stephen Curry isn't shutting the door on potentially playing with LeBron James on the same team in the NBA, but he did acknowledge the odds of it happening before either one of them retires are low.

Speaking to ESPN's Malika Andrews on Tuesday's episode of NBA Today (starts at :55 second mark), Curry said a pairing with James "probably" won't happen.

"Probably not but I think the what-ifs and all that type of stuff, you kind of just leave that for whatever platform people want to talk about it. We just hoop," he said.

The Golden State Warriors have at least explored the possibility of getting Curry and James on the same team.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne reported in February the Warriors attempted to convince James and the Los Angeles Lakers to consider a trade, but talks never got anywhere when James' camp told Golden State governor Joe Lacob and general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. their client had "no interest" in being dealt.

James could have forced his way to the Warriors during the offseason when he was a free agent. Golden State was trying to make a big splash with a strong push for Paul George that was close to being done before talks with the Los Angeles Clippers fell apart.

It's not hard to envision a scenario in which the Warriors pivoted to James in a potential sign-and-trade with the Lakers for James if he really wanted to go.

Instead, James opted to remain with the Lakers on a two-year, $101.4 million contract with a full no-trade clause. His deal does have a player option for 2025-26, so he could hit the market again next summer if he chooses to do so.

ESPN's Brian Windhorst noted on the Dec. 11 episode of Get Up that James was among the players on Golden State's trade radar prior to the February trade deadline, but also added James has no interest in being traded.

Barring some surprise change from James, the only time fans got to see him partner up with Curry in a competitive setting was over the summer when they were on Team USA.

The results were spectacular with the U.S. going 6-0 en route to winning a gold medal. Curry scored a combined 60 points in the semifinals and gold-medal game. James, who was named MVP of the men's tournament, posted a triple-double with 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in the semifinal win over Serbia.

As much fun as it would be to see what a Curry-James pairing could do, even at this late stage of both their careers, the odds of it happening have always felt long before Curry acknowledged it.

Curry and James will play their 53rd head-to-head meeting on Christmas Day when the Warriors host the Lakers at Chase Center.