LeBron James to the Warriors?
I’ve heard worse suggestions than the Warriors bypassing the half-measures and going all-in on old guys.
But that doesn’t mean it should — or will — happen.
Even if the Warriors are keen to trade Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, and Jonathan Kuminga for James — and that’s what it would take — Golden State would need to know how much James could play for them.
Two years?
One season?
Intermittently at best?
That last option seems most likely.
Time waits for no man — not even the self-proclaimed king.
James reportedly played the season’s final three months with a torn tendon in his foot. Anyone who watched him in the playoffs could see his left foot causing him problems. James even wore a 2005 edition of his signature Nike shoes — the LeBron II — in the Lakers’ series against the Warriors, as it undoubtedly provided more support and protection than the minimalist LeBron 20 sneakers Nike designed for him this past season.
So when the NBA’s all-time leading scorer hinted at retirement at the end of the Western Conference Finals, it shouldn’t have been a shock.
And while I think James will play next season, I doubt his campaign starts in October — it might not even happen in 2023. After all, that foot could require surgery — the first known major surgery of James’ career. What that means for the remainder of his playing days is anyone’s guess, but you’d be a fool to think he’ll be a better, more athletic player moving forward. James is still a great player, but his best basketball is behind him and moving away at a jaw-dropping pace.
Yes, one timeline for the Warriors seems like a great idea. LeBron, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson, and Steph Curry playing together as a geriatric superteam is an idea previously only seen in video games.
But I’m not sure that team — as star-laden as it would be — will make the playoffs. You’d be punting far too many games for rest and recovery.
But ignoring the fact that James likely isn’t keen to leave Los Angeles, nor are the Lakers keen to dump him, his coming to the Warriors would be one of those “here for a good time, not a long time” situations. Again, he’d likely start the season late, playing in back-to-backs would be out of the question, you’d only get bursts of James at his best, and who knows what other injuries will pop up after he had to compensate for a bum wheel in playoff games.
Yes, it’s understandable to think the Dubs should align the roster with Steph Curry’s prime, but adding James — even at his best and healthiest — won’t solve the Warriors’ issues that saw them fall to the Lakers in the second round of the playoffs this year.
Say what you will about Poole, Kuminga, and Wiggins, but is trading three good players for one the move the Dubs need to make?
Unless we’re talking about one of the five or six best players in the game in the prime of their careers, I don’t see it.
No, Golden State needs more depth. If the Warriors move any of those aforementioned players, they need a return of two or three quality contributors who would close games in certain circumstances.
The NBA’s new collective bargaining agreement is about to take away the Warriors’ mid-level exception, as the Dubs are poised to remain above all luxury tax aprons for the upcoming season and likely beyond. The mid-level brought in Dante DiVincenzo this past season, proving that it was a critical roster-building block for a team that, otherwise, can only augment via trade, rookies, G-League players, or veterans willing to take the league minimum.
Trading Poole (82 games last regular season), Wiggins (the second-best player on a title-winning team), or Kuminga (who played 20 minutes a game as a 20-year-old) for a player who might be around half the time would force the Warriors to rely on bottom-of-the-roster players to play big minutes. Only so much Dubs magic can be applied before such a tactic proves seriously problematic.
There are trades to be made for the Warriors this summer. We don’t know who will execute them, as president of basketball operations Bob Myers’ contract is set to expire at the end of next month, but the opportunities are unquestionably there.
But swinging for James — as fun as it might seem in concept — is too big a risk for a Warriors team that needs to add some solidity to the roster this summer.
