Since his return to the Cleveland Cavaliers, the biggest thorn in LeBron James’ side has been the Golden State Warriors. He’s all but ran through the competition in the Eastern Conference over the last four seasons but when it comes to the NBA Finals, the Warriors have proven to be the toughest task he’s faced with the Cavs.
The Warriors seem more poised than ever to keep their core together and continue to run rough shot through the NBA. But as LeBron James just adds more numbers to his age and continues to build his legacy, the surefire Hall of Famer could make a decision to chase those rings with the Dubs opposed to competing against them.
Following comes from Chris B Haynes of ESPN.
If the Golden State Warriors can create a max salary slot this offseason, the defending NBA champions could position themselves to secure a meeting with LeBron James, league sources told ESPN.
There is no indication that Golden State is evaluating such options to acquire the Cleveland Cavaliers star at this time.
Out of respect for the Warriors’ winning culture, James would listen if Golden State explored ways to clear the necessary cap space, sources said.
This is definitely a shock to some on the surface but if you look a little deeper and peel the layers back, there could be room for some legitimate questions.
Is LeBron James actually going to join the Warriors? Probably not. The Warriors would have to cut an important piece or two from their rotation to fit James into the team on the max level salary he desires. We’ve seen teams in the past do it for James when he came calling both with the Miami Heat and his return to the Cavs. But will Warriors general manager Bob Myers really do that for LeBron without a solid guarantee?
Second, it’s just a meeting. Even if LeBron James does hit free agency and meets with the Warriors, it’s just a meeting. We’ve seen stars take meetings with teams in the past and not go anywhere beyond that. LaMarcus Aldridge met with the Los Angeles Lakers (twice), Kevin Durant had a sit down with the Boston Celtics and Blake Griffin scheduled a meeting with the Phoenix Suns. It could be a leverage play by James either to spark a fire under the Cavs management to make things happen or possibly bait the Warriors into trading one of their top players in hopes of landing James.
Nothing is guaranteed when it comes to LeBron James.
