Unveiling the Warriors' Pursuit of LeBron and AD: They Are Not on the Same Team but Are Linked—Is the Real Story Rich Paul Inflating Their Value?

On June 30, Beijing time, not long after reports emerged that the Warriors aimed to snag both LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Draymond Green opted out of his $27.7 million player option, marking an initial move in that direction and intensifying rumors of a super team construction. Multiple journalists have provided further details—

Warriors beat reporter Slater stated that for weeks, internal team assessments suggested LeBron would likely remain with the Lakers, but James has yet to engage in in-depth extension negotiations with Los Angeles, leading Golden State to believe a sliver of opportunity remains. Sources indicate the Warriors think that if they could first acquire Davis—LeBron’s former Lakers teammate and close friend—it would significantly strengthen their case to persuade the four-time MVP to join.

Previously, Windhorst said: “As soon as the NBA Finals ended, the Lakers immediately contacted LeBron and his agent to express interest in keeping him. Since then, they’ve been eager to meet with James, but they haven’t made an offer yet. As far as I know, James hasn’t found time to attend that meeting either.”

Noted reporter Shams even mentioned on a program that although Davis and James are currently on different teams, the two are essentially packaged together in trade talks—in other words, it’s very difficult for the Warriors to acquire just one of them.

Many league insiders harbor doubts: Do the Warriors really have a chance to assemble Davis, James, alongside Curry and Green? Or is their shared agent, Klutch Sports founder Rich Paul, simply using this to drive up extension offers for all three from their respective teams?

Windhorst raised this possibility: “The league insiders I spoke with today are not optimistic about this scenario. They generally believe the final outcome will be: Green re-signs with the Warriors, LeBron stays with the Lakers, and Davis remains with the Wizards. I can’t say for sure, but this whole series of rumors might just be creating leverage for Davis and LeBron in their extension talks with Washington and Los Angeles, respectively, with all three ultimately signing big contracts with their original teams. Of course, there’s also a chance they all end up in Golden State—I can’t determine which outcome will happen.”

Rich Paul met with Wizards management yesterday to discuss Davis’s future. Windhorst noted: “The Wizards are fully capable of offering Davis a lucrative contract. The team already gave Trae Young a four-year, $212 million max deal. Washington is eager to become a championship contender immediately and might be willing to hand Davis a similar package.”

HoopsWire sources report that the Wizards have almost no interest in acquiring Butler. In any trade involving Davis, salary matching would almost certainly require sending out Butler, whose salary next season is $57 million. This means if the Warriors truly want Davis, the deal might need a third team to facilitate.

If Davis were traded to the Warriors, Jimmy Butler would have to be the primary outgoing salary for matching purposes.Reporter Slater asked Butler’s agent, Bernie Lee, about this, and Lee responded: The Warriors have always indicated they have no intention of trading Butler.“I don’t want to keep responding to various rumors, but I can make one thing clear: from the owner and front office to the coaching staff and medical team, the Warriors have consistently and fully supported Butler’s recovery process, and that remains true.”

After signing Kristaps Porziņģis to a two-year, $40 million deal, the Warriors face significantly increased difficulty in salary cap calculations if they want to free up the $15.1 million full mid-level exception to sign LeBron. However, viable options still exist. In particular, Green opting out leaves room for salary adjustments in the coming days.

Salary cap expert Gotzlan said that theoretically, the Warriors have a chance to land both veteran superstars, but multiple conditions must be met: trade Butler along with draft assets for Davis, offload Moody’s salary to free cap space, and ensure Green’s new contract’s cap hit is no larger than Porziņģis’s.

Salary cap expert Marks added that if the Warriors fail to shed Moody’s contract, they can only use the tax-payer mid-level exception, which is projected at just $6.1 million next season—a huge gap compared to the full $15.1 million mid-level. Once they use an exception exceeding the tax-payer mid-level amount to sign a player, the team will be hard-capped by the first apron.