When news broke on June 29 that Draymond Green had declined his $27.7 million player option to become, technically, a free agent, all signs pointed to LeBron James joining the Warriors. The idea was to have Green accept a new multi-year contract for less annual money with the first-year savings going into the James fund.
The dots were pretty easy to connect. James has been a Warriors target for years. They made a play for him at the 2024 deadline. In a 2022 interview, James named Stephen Curry as the current player he would most like to partner with. Green opting out was the key to making it happen. And when it was announced less than 24 hours later that James would not be returning to the Lakers, it seemed like a done deal.
Now here we are on Friday with no deal done, and with every hour that passes, it feels increasingly unlikely that James will actually end up in the Bay. ESPN’s Anthony Slater has, in fact, reported that the Warriors “have been given no indication they’re any type of front-runner” to land James. And on Thursday, James’ agent, Rich Paul, went on his podcast and outlined the pros and cons of 10 potential destinations for James on a whiteboard.
Make of this what you will, but the “Steph & Dray” Warriors are on the outskirts of Paul’s outline here:
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Game Over Podcast
The first team Paul discussed was the 76ers, noting that “everything changed” when they made the trade for Jaylen Brown on Wednesday night. It makes sense. A day earlier, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that the way for any of these LeBron suitors to get his attention was to make a splash move to improve their roster.
Forget a splash move, the Warriors haven’t made any move for a player they didn’t already have; they’ve only re-signed Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and De’Anthony Melton. They drafted Yaxel Lendeborg with the 11th pick, but a rookie isn’t going to move the needle for James.
There was wind blowing in the direction of the Warriors making a trade for Anthony Davis to lure James, but that was either never real or isn’t real anymore — at least if we’re to believe Marc Stein’s report that the Warriors don’t want to trade Jimmy Butler, as Butler’s contract would be the only viable swap for Davis’ money.
LeBron James to the 76ers? Why Jaylen Brown could help lure The King to Philly
Brad Botkin
LeBron James to the 76ers? Why Jaylen Brown could help lure The King to Philly
At this point, it’s hard to put too much stock in what anyone is saying or why they’re saying it. But for whatever it’s worth, the Warriors were the seventh of the 10 teams Paul talked about on his podcast. If that sounds like an afterthought to you, you’re not alone.
Again, this makes sense if James’ top priority is signing with the team that gives him the best chance of winning his fifth championship. The Warriors are not that. They would be fun and potentially quite competitive if everyone could stay healthy, but that’s a big “if” and there are much surer bets on the board.
The fact is, James can go to basically whatever team he wants if he’ll take minimum money. And being that money isn’t — if you believe the reporting — his main concern at this point, even the $15 million mid-level exception the Warriors could offer him (if they can get off Moses Moody’s contract) is no longer much of a competitive advantage, if any at all.
What will the Warriors do if their LeBron dream doesn’t come true?
And so here we are on July 3 with the Warriors, who put all their offseason eggs in the LeBron James basket, staring at the same roster they ended last season with while everyone else has gobbled up the bulk of available players. If nothing materializes, Slater says the Warriors’ front office is “content if they have to run it back with mostly the same roster.”
In the big picture, that’s probably the right move if the James pursuit falls through. Trading for Davis and then giving him the extension he wants would probably be irresponsible given his age and injury history. This probably isn’t a true championship-contending team — no matter what move(s) they make.
But Warriors fans don’t want to hear about probablys. They’re watching the sun set on the Curry era while the front office sits on its hands. In today’s Western Conference, if you’re not getting better, you’re getting worse. The presence of the Spurs and Thunder is forcing everyone with any real competitive ambition to take real risks.
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