The Warriors getting LeBron James and Kevin Durant is essentially the most unhinged rumor of the NBA commerce deadline

The final time Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry teamed up within the NBA, the end result was three NBA Finals appearances and two titles in three years. After which, just a few years after separating, they acquired collectively as a part of the USA Basketball Avengers with LeBron James to guide the USA to a gold medal on the 2024 Paris Olympics final summer season.

So even when it appears unimaginable, one may very well be forgiven if pondering an NBA workforce that includes these three may nonetheless be fairly good for an NBA Expendables-style, one-last-job-type title run, even when all of them are going a bit grey within the beard (in LeBron’s case, actually). Nevertheless it’s additionally the kind of midseason transaction twister that will get thrown out by NBA 2K’s machine logic for being too unrealistic and a set of strikes which can be almost unimaginable to work underneath the league’s new, extra restrictive collective bargaining settlement.

However as this weekend in basketball confirmed us, “almost unimaginable” isn’t the identical as really unimaginable. Within the aftermath of that Lakers heist, it’s arduous in charge the Golden State Warriors for dreaming huge. In spite of everything, if Luka Doncic can get traded to the Lakers seemingly out of nowhere, nothing is off the desk.

And nicely, dreaming huge is precisely what the Warriors are doing as a result of, in line with the most recent dispatch from NBA insider Jake Fischer for The Stein Line, Golden State is letting themselves fantasize a couple of world the place Durant, James and Curry workforce up in The Bay underneath Olympics coach Steve Kerr earlier than Thursday’s NBA commerce deadline:

Sources say essentially the most formidable concept being tossed round amongst Golden State’s decision-makers: Is there any possible pathway for the Warriors to drag off the dreamiest of outcomes and discover a option to convey each James and Durant to The Bay?

That will require fairly the masterstroke. And whereas pulling that off at present stands as impossible, each from a salary-matching and asset valuation standpoint, that is the kind of big-game looking that has outlined these Warriors. From their authentic Durant free company thunderbolt in 2016 … to final commerce deadline’s inquiries about James … to this previous offseason’s aggressive pursuits of each Paul George and Lauri Markkanen and, at occasions, attempting to amass each of them.

That’s clearly big, kind of insane, and results in one huge query.

May the Warriors really commerce for each LeBron James and Kevin Durant?

It might be tough, however the reply is — kind of shockingly given the hellish restrictions of the brand new CBA and all three workforce’s cap conditions — really sure.

I spent method an excessive amount of time earlier than even writing this text looking for a legally workable deal within the commerce machine and was really ready to take action, so long as all three groups waited to consummate it till the day of the deadline, as Dennis Schröder shouldn’t be eligible to be re-aggregated in a commerce till then. There are different caveats, however legally, these groups may theoretically make the commerce beneath, even when it’s in all probability too deranged and sophisticated to ever get agreed to in actual life.

Could I current to you, pricey readers, essentially the most unhinged commerce machine screenshot I’ve ever included in an article:

Picture by way of https://fanspo.com/nba/trade-machine

Now, it’s essential to notice a pair issues right here…

1. The Warriors would additionally must signal a number of gamers off the road to fill out the legally required 14 gamers for his or her roster, and each the Lakers and Suns must minimize a number of gamers. Nevertheless, in line with my (communications-degree-level) cap math, all of them ought to have sufficient room to take action, however I’m positive SB Nation’s big range of part-time CBA specialists within the feedback will let me know if I missed one thing.
2. LeBron James would additionally must be upset sufficient in regards to the AD commerce to waive his no-trade clause to hitch Golden State, one thing he has indicated to this point that he’s not going to do, which if true, will nonetheless solely go down as solely his second-most ruthless rejection of Warriors followers’ title desires ever.
3. There would additionally clearly be draft picks being despatched out right here by the Warriors, however I didn’t even wish to get into the logic of that and simply needed to see if this sort of transfer was legally doable underneath the CBA.

… HOWEVER, in a world the place all three groups can conform to a deal this difficult, get the choose exchanges to a suitable stage for all events and LeBron agrees to take the James & Son present to San Francisco for one final journey along with his former Finals foes, then, hypothetically, possibly, the Warriors rumored dream may change into our ridiculous actuality.

It’s in all probability not going to occur, however hey, as this weekend confirmed when the Lakers acquired Luka Doncic for fewer first-round picks than the Spurs used to commerce for De’Aaron Fox, it by no means hurts for an NBA glamour franchise to dream huge. And if the Warriors pull off one thing this loopy to go from a play-in workforce to potential title contender, possibly they actually can say they’re mild years forward of the remainder of the league. We’ll discover out if they’ll by Thursday, Feb. 6 at 3 p.m. ET when the buzzer sounds on the NBA’s transaction window.