The Golden State Warriors are still very much in the LeBron James business. They just may not need Anthony Davis to close the deal.
According to Marc Stein, the Warriors are at the front of the line in pursuit of LeBron in free agency, but Golden State is not operating as if it must also trade for Davis to make that pitch work. That matters, because the first version of this rumor sounded like an entire blockbuster movie: get AD from Washington, reunite him with LeBron, put both next to Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, and see if the league could survive the nostalgia storm.
Now the story feels a little cleaner. Golden State’s real target is LeBron. Davis may be a dream-layer, but not the requirement. Stein and Jake Fischer have reported that the Warriors are not working under the premise that landing James depends on also landing Davis.
Basketball-wise, that makes sense. LeBron with Curry is already the headline. The Warriors do not need to build an entire reunion tour to make the pitch interesting. Curry’s shooting, LeBron’s passing and Draymond’s basketball brain would create one of the smartest veteran cores the league has ever seen. Even at this stage, LeBron would give Golden State size, tempo control, half-court organization and another late-game decision-maker.
The big question is whether the Warriors can build enough around that trio to make it more than a spectacle. Age, health and depth would be real concerns. But if the choice is simply chasing LeBron without also spending assets on Davis, the idea becomes easier to understand.
