Stephen A. Smith has some strong opinions about LeBron James hypothetically joining Steph Curry and the Warriors.

The ESPN analyst explained why he doesn’t want to see his Olympic teammates together in San Francisco.

“As a fan, LeBron with Steph Curry would be visually special,” Smith said on “First Take” on Tuesday. “I have no doubt about that… I don’t want to see it because LeBron James doesn’t deserve it, absolutely not. LeBron James doesn’t deserve to be with Steph Curry, here’s why: Stay – right there in LA. You won a championship in the bubble, I heard you lost the first round the next year.

“We are so fascinated by the greatness of the individual player, LeBron James, and he is the Mount Rushmore of all time, I understand that.” No shade there. But we’re so caught up in a player’s greatness that we don’t pay enough attention to the power of his influence and the moves he forces to make that serve to derail a franchise like the one in Los Angeles. No, you can’t leave this and go to Golden State. Stay with Anthony Davis in Southern California and find out.

.@stephenasmith don’t want LeBron and Steph to play together on the same team 👀

“I don’t want to see it because LeBron James doesn’t deserve it.” 😳 pic.twitter.com/aP5Fj6NYmK

– First Take (@FirstTake) December 10, 2024

While Golden State contacted the Los Angeles Lakers about a trade last season, James reportedly wasn’t interested. Given how well Curry and James worked together to win the gold medal for Team USA in Paris, many in the league continue to speculate that the two will share the NBA spot.

Given the current NBA salary cap and luxury tax structure, a trade would require Golden State to part with much of its young talent and future draft picks. Considering James has turned down previous trade offers, it’s unlikely he’ll want to leave Los Angeles.

The Lakers are currently in a slump, with a record of 3-7 in their last 10 games. Los Angeles won the 2020 NBA Finals in the Orlando bubble but has reached the Western Conference Finals just once since then. It remains to be seen whether growing frustration with continued mediocrity would be enough to lure James to his fourth NBA franchise.

For Smith, it would be in poor taste for James to leave the Lakers in a state of disarray, even though Warriors fans would disagree.

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