The Golden State Warriors have been in the LeBron James chase from the start, and they’ve pushed harder than just about anyone. Stephen Curry even met with James in June as the idea of James reaching free agency started to gain traction around the league.
That meeting was part of a broader Warriors effort to sell James on Golden State. As NBA insider Brett Siegel put it, “Pairing him with Stephen Curry is going to be something that the Warriors are going to pursue over the next few weeks… It seemed very doubtful, it seemed low percentage, now it’s kind of questionable. Now there’s going to be some legs to this… That same source told us that Steph is planning on meeting and talking with LeBron about potentially joining the Warriors over the course of the next few weeks leading up to free agency,”
Golden State also had one edge that most teams didn’t. While other clubs had to work through James’ agent, Rich Paul, Warriors players were able to reach James directly.
ESPN’s Anthony V. Slater said, “Not many people in this process can reach LeBron James directly, but the Warriors players can,”
Even with that access and all the effort the Warriors have put in, they may still be behind the pack. ESPN’s Shams Charania said, “The Warriors] are, to my knowledge, behind other teams such as a Miami, a Cleveland, a Philadelphia,”
James is expected to make a decision soon, and right now Golden State looks like a long shot. The biggest question may be whether the current roster is strong enough for James to see it as a real championship-level situation. For all the Warriors’ work, that could be the thing that keeps them from landing him, with the latest signs pointing toward an Eastern Conference destination.
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