The Golden State Warriors had a path to LeBron James, at least in theory, and Shams Charania says it started with Anthony Davis.
On the Stephen A. Smith Show, Charania laid out the scenario that could have changed everything for Golden State: if the Warriors had been willing to pay the price to get Davis from the Washington Wizards, they might have had a real shot at bringing James in too.
“What if the Warriors had gone out and been willing to give up several draft capital to go get an Anthony Davis from Washington?” Charania said.
“Does LeBron James follow suit? My understanding was if the Warriors were able to get Anthony Davis, they had as good of a chance, if not better than anyone, to go get a LeBron James.
And I think you have to look at that in the calculus of everything.”
That possibility had been floating around before free agency even opened. The Warriors were reportedly trying to swing a Davis trade and then line up a deal for James, with the idea of giving the 41-year-old a chance to reunite with his former Los Angeles Lakers co-star.
But the mechanics were messy from the start. Jimmy Butler, who is recovering from a torn ACL, would likely have had to be included to make the salaries work.
The Wizards were said to be open to moving Davis, but not interested in taking Butler, which meant a third team would have been needed. That kind of setup makes everything harder, and this one never got easier.
Then Wizards GM Will Dawkins shut the door. He said the team was keeping Davis and added that the 10-time All-Star wanted to stay in Washington, brushing aside any talk that Davis was unhappy.
Charania echoed that view, saying Washington had no real interest in moving him and would have demanded a massive return to even consider it.
“The Wizards didn’t want to move Anthony Davis,” Charania said. “And if they were to listen to an AD trade, you knew their price was going to be sky-high. I mean, if the Warriors wanted to get involved there, it would have probably required multiple firsts, multiple swaps, seconds, and that became a very steep price.”
That kind of package was always going to be a tough sell, especially for a player whose availability has become the biggest part of the conversation. Davis averaged 20.4 points, 11.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.7 blocks per game in 2025-26, but those numbers came with the Dallas Mavericks.
He didn’t play a single game after Dallas traded him to Washington in February 2026 because of injury. The 33-year-old appeared in 20 games last season and 51 the season before that.
James, meanwhile, put up 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.6 blocks per game in 2025-26. If the Warriors had landed Davis, the idea of James following him to Golden State at least makes the imagination run. But even with that door cracked open, it still probably wasn’t the right move.
In the end, James decided the Warriors didn’t offer the best title path and went elsewhere. Golden State also came up empty while teams like the 76ers made major moves, including the acquisition of Jaylen Brown.
That leaves the Warriors having missed on every major offseason target, and it’s hard to argue with the idea that they’ve been the biggest losers of the summer.
Stephen Curry is still producing at a high level, averaging 26.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game in 2025-26. But with James gone and no big swing landing in their favor, the Warriors don’t look close to contender status.
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