Everything Joe Lacob Said About Steph Curry, LeBron James, Warriors' 'Very Big Trade Offers'

Golden State Warriors owner Joe Lacob says his team made multiple "very big" trade offers that didn't come to fruition this offseason.

Lacob spoke about what he described as the Warriors' "secret dealings" on Wednesday's episode of Audacy's The TK Show podcast with Tim Kawakami.

"We made at least two very big offers in the last six months, let's put it that way, between the trade deadline and the summer," Lacob told Kawakami around the 10:00 mark of the podcast. "At least two were multiple draft choices. So it's not like we wouldn't move them if we thought it was the right thing to do... I can tell you that our offers that we did make were more than two. They were a significant amount of draft capital.

"They didn't work out. The cost was too high to be justifiable, or we weren't selected. These things happen."

The Warriors are currently set to bring back most of last season's roster after re-signing players including Draymond Green, De'Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II following LeBron James' decision to sign as a free agent with the Philadelphia 76ers.

When asked by Kawakami if he had held any talks with James prior to the Sixers' signing, Lacob answered, "We certainly were in that narrative and that discussion."

"I think if he would have been chosen to come to us, that would have been great," Lacob said about James.

Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. also "had discussions" with the Boston Celtics before the team traded Jaylen Brown to the Sixers, according to Lacob.

"They canvassed the entire league, and they wanted a lot," Lacob told Kawakami about the Celtics' bid to trade Brown.

Lacob told Kawakami the Warriors' lack of a major offseason trade to compensate for not signing players like James or Brown wasn't due to a lack of draft capital on offer.

He pointed toward the Warriors' February 2025 deal for Jimmy Butler, in which the team sent out a protected first-round pick, as an example of his willingness to move draft picks.

"We want to be as good as we can be this year," Lacob said. "We're trying to be the best team we can be, trying to win an NBA championship... the point is we're always trying to be the best team we can be, and we were very aggressive about doing these things."

Lacob continued, "Sometimes it works out to get somebody in the summer, sometimes it's at the trade deadline. It's a continuous thing... I'm actually very enthusiastic about our team. I think we're a playoff team."

Kawakami also asked Lacob about Stephen Curry, who is currently set to play next season on an expiring contract but is eligible to sign an extension Aug. 29.

Lacob said the Warriors and Curry haven't yet discussed a potential discussion but are "getting close" to those talks.

"My guess is, Steph, I wouldn't worry about this too much," Lacob said. "Steph loves it here. We love him here. I don't want Steph to go anywhere. I really can't imagine a scenario where he's going anywhere. I think we'll do what needs to be done."

Lacob has served part of the Warriors' ownership group since 2010. The Warriors have gone through three general managers in that time, working with Larry Riley and Bob Myers before Dunleavy took over in 2023.

Two of Myers' most scrutinized decisions were his choices to draft James Wiseman and Jonathan Kuminga with top-ten picks in consecutive drafts.

Lacob told Kawakami on the podcast he felt the franchise's mistake was selecting Wiseman at No. 2 in 2020, not Kuminga at No. 7 in 2021.

"It's just hard. These are human beings. They don't quite always work out as we analyze them," Lacob said. "I do not view Jonathan Kuminga as a mistake.

"I think we may have made some mistakes in how we handled it, and how he handled it, maybe he made some mistakes... it's not a mistake at the seventh pick. There are seventh picks that are out of the league."

The Warriors are counting on their latest draft selection to pay off as Yaxel Lendeborg looks to potentially take on significant frontcourt minutes next season.

Without any major trade additions this summer, Kristaps Porziņģis' ability to stay healthy after his arrival via the Kuminga trade and Jimmy Butler's recovery from the ACL injury that sidelined him in January will both be key to Lacob and the Warriors' hopes of making it back to the playoffs this spring.