Steph Curry Opens Up About Offseason Conversations With LeBron James

A lot of people spent the summer thinking forward LeBron James might team up with guard Stephen Curry on the Golden State Warriors, but James chose the Philadelphia 76ers in July instead.

Now, with the regular season six days away, Curry has shared his side of how those talks went.

During the Warriors season preview on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Curry was asked if he ever talked with James, his former Olympic teammate, about playing together in Golden State.

Curry did not try to dodge it, and he gave a straight answer.

"I thought there was a conversation, and if there was ever some momentum, it would be known based on the profile LeBron has," Curry said in his answer about the free agency chase.

He also said James took his time and stayed patient with the decision, so the move to Philadelphia came as a surprise to him.

In Curry's view, James had every right to handle it his own way, and as a friend and Olympic teammate, he is happy James found a place where he wants to be.

That lines up with what Curry said back in July at the American Century Championship, when he said he hoped to play with James and called a possible pairing a unique story in NBA history.

The two met in four straight NBA Finals from 2015 to 2018 and later played together for the United States at the 2024 Olympics.

I think Curry handled this the right way, because he did not act like the Warriors were never in the mix and he did not sound bitter about missing out on an all-time great.

I would not want anything more than that from the leader of this team.

Without James, the Warriors still have to sort out a banged up roster, since forward Jimmy Butler is still working back from a torn ACL and has no clear date for his return.

Guard Moses Moody is also recovering from a ruptured left patellar tendon, which puts even more on Curry's plate as he heads into his 18th season.

Curry already showed he wants to finish his career in Golden State when he agreed to a two-year extension in September reportedly worth $116 million.

He was eligible for up to $136 million but took less than the max, and I give him a lot of credit for that with this team so thin.

Golden State plays its last preseason game Friday at home against the Portland Trail Blazers and opens the regular season Wednesday, Oct. 21, against the Lakers in Los Angeles.

The first meeting with the 76ers does not come until March 24 at Chase Center, and the Warriors then head east to play them again on March 31.

Curry has also pushed back on the blame aimed at the front office, but missing on James will keep people asking whether Golden State did enough this summer.

I think the only real way to stop those questions is to win early while Butler and Moody are out, and Curry is the one who will have to carry most of that load until they get back.