Even as the Golden State Warriors publicly discussed taking a step back from the “championship or bust” mentality that has defined them for the past decade, this team is never actually far from taking a big swing. According to a report by Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints, there is growing momentum toward the Warriors making a legitimate run at signing legendary forward LeBron James this offseason. In fact, Siegel reports that Steph Curry plans to meet with LeBron prior to the start of free agency.
“League
sources telling us at ClutchPoints that the Warriors are very much open to pursuing LeBron James and they plan to do so this offseason in free agency,” Siegel said. “LeBron James, at the end of his career, he could still contribute a high level, we saw that in the playoffs. Pairing him with Stephen Curry is going to be something that the Warriors look to pursue over the next few weeks… It seemed very doubtful, it seemed low percentage, now it’s kind of questionable. Now there’s going to be some legs to this… That same source told us that Steph is planning on meeting and talking with LeBron about potentially joining the Warriors over the course of the next few weeks leading up to free agency.”
This is far from the first time the Dubs have tried to bring LeBron to the Bay Area. The Warriors have consistently checked in with the Lakers about LeBron’s potential availability via trade over the past couple seasons, per reports. Two years ago it seemed obvious that James would finish his career with the Lakers, but the league-shattering blockbuster that brought Luke Dončić to Los Angeles significantly changed the dynamic. While LeBron still will likely have the best chance at receiving the most money from the Lakers,
The Warriors clearest path to signing James is with the non-taxpayer mid-level exception (worth roughly $15 million per season), which would still mark a 70% pay cut for LeBron. A sign-and-trade could be a different path to paying James more, but that would require Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, or Kristaps Porzingis heading out in the deal.
Butler’s exorbitant salary and ACL injury likely makes any deal a non-starter. On paper, Green could fit with the Lakers as they look for a defensive anchor, but his longstanding close relationship with James and their shared agent (Rich Paul) makes that seem less likely. Porzingis seems like the most likely of the three. Sign-and-trades require three-year contracts, but they can include non-guaranteed years.
Given Porzingis’ upside the Lakers may be willing to role the dice on a three-year, $75 million deal with only the first season guaranteed. A deal like that would allow the Warriors to pay LeBron around $30-$35 million next season. Green could also decline his player option and re-sign an extension with a lower salary in 2026-27 to leave the Dubs more space below the first apron to use their mid-level exception for another addition.
Time will tell if the Warriors are a serious contender to sign James or if LeBron is simply using Golden State as leverage to get more guaranteed money from the Lakers. However, the Dubs have few easy options to add premium talent to a roster that is sorely lacking exactly that. Even if the odds are low, a hail mary to land LeBron is worth a shot.
