The Golden State Warriors are one of the few teams with a legitimate shot at landing LeBron James.
As crazy as this may sound, James might join the very same team that stopped him from winning an NBA championship three out of four times. The same team he took down after facing a 3-1 deficit.
However, the Warriors aren’t alone in their pursuit of James, and they may not even be the front-runner for his services.
Considering that, team insider Anthony Slater had some bad news for the fans. In an appearance on ESPN’s “NBA Today,” he revealed the Warriors’ Plan B, and it’s as simple as not doing much more.
It’s LeBron James or nothing for the Warriors
“Yeah, boring. I think stable,” Slater said. “Think about how they have kept their books clean and beyond this season only have $34.9 million committed beyond this season. They have a lot of, fans don’t like to hear this, but optionality and flexibility. They can go after future stars. They’ve kept their draft picks, even though people wanted them to trade them.”
Slater argued that the Warriors will probably just look into developing No. 11 pick Yaxel Lendeborg and maintaining as much financial wiggle room to do right by their current players.
Draymond Green might benefit from this situation
The Warriors could use the financial leeway to give Stephen Curry another contract extension, with Draymond Green also potentially cashing in on LeBron’s absence.
“This would keep the Warriors’ long-term financial flexibility and give Draymond Green the payday he wants. Basically, the Warriors and Draymond Green want to be together for the entirety of his career,” Slater added.
Of course, most fans would probably rather watch the team make bigger moves and go after another star if they can’t land the future Hall of Famer.
For now, it looks like the team will only consider going all-in for James. If not, it’ll be status quo in the Bay Area.