LeBron James’ Decision Leaves Four Teams Reeling
When LeBron James signed a two-year, minimum-salary deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, it marked the end of an era for four teams that had pinned their championship hopes on the basketball legend. The Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, and Minnesota Timberwolves all considered James a crucial piece in their quest for a title, but ultimately fell short.
James’ decision has left these teams scrambling to regroup and find a new path to success. With no other James-level free agents on the market, they will have to rely on modest moves to try and fill the void left by his departure.
Golden State’s Championship Window has Closed
The Golden State Warriors have long been known for their success in free agency, attracting top talent with their desirable minimum-salary destinations and lucrative contracts. However, with James choosing the 76ers over them, it’s clear that their championship window has closed.
The Warriors were always the team best-positioned to keep James close to his California-based family, but he chose the 76ers because they represented a better chance to win. This decision feels like the end of a chapter, and maybe even the end of a book. If LeBron James doesn’t hold the Warriors in their former esteem, it’s hard to imagine other big-name players doing so.
The Warriors’ only viable path to competing for a title would have been trading for another superstar as a recruiting tool to land James on a discount. However, they determined that no available player justified a substantial draft pick investment. Given the age and injury concerns attached to this roster, it was a narrow one at best.
Realistically, the Warriors are now in a stealth-rebuilding phase. They’re a Play-In Tournament team at best right now, perhaps with a bit of late-season upside when Jimmy Butler returns from his torn ACL. If the Dallas Mavericks and Utah Jazz improve as much as they should, Golden State could get nudged out of the top 10 altogether.
The Warriors will let Curry finish his career as he sees fit. If he wants to move, he’ll almost certainly pick his destination. If he wants to stay, he will continue to make max money, and is eligible for a two-year extension in August. That’s the safe bet at this point.
When this publishes, James will have been a 76er for almost 24 hours. It feels a bit strange that Draymond Green hasn’t re-signed yet… right? James was available for almost a month. You’d think the Warriors would have had the parameters of an offer ready for Green in the event that they couldn’t recruit him.
Golden State has full Bird Rights and no better way to spend this season than paying a franchise icon to keep Curry invested and sell tickets. There’s no cap space out there and only a handful of mid-level exceptions, which probably wouldn’t be worth enough to entice Green anyway.
Cleveland’s Miss Stings More Than Anyone Else’s
The Warriors may be in a worse overall position than the Cavaliers at this point, but it’s not as though the James pursuit interfered with any of their other business. They managed to keep Kristaps Porziņģis, Al Horford, and De’Anthony Melton.
Cleveland staked this offseason entirely on the James pursuit. The Cavaliers lost Dean Wade and Keon Ellis — their two best on-ball defenders — in order to preserve financial flexibility to chase LeBron.
There are no worthwhile replacements out there. The Cavaliers have been linked to Jonathan Kuminga in part due to his relationship with Kenny Atkinson going back to their time together in Golden State. That’s a low-odds swing on a high-lottery talent who has never consistently done the sort of role player things Cleveland needs out of its fifth starter.
Either way, they’ve lost depth. They were just the runner-up of an Eastern Conference that got substantially stronger. They were not one piece away from the Knicks as it was, even if that piece had been LeBron.
The Cavaliers had a lot of optionality entering the offseason. If they’d wanted to go all-in on the present, there was probably an Evan Mobley-for-Giannis Antetokounmpo trade available to them.
