Key Points
- The Warriors plan to sign LeBron James in free agency and trade for Anthony Davis
- Golden State can offer James the full $15.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception
- A Davis trade would likely need Jimmy Butler's expiring $57 million contract plus picks
- The Wizards have signaled they intend to keep Davis after re-signing Trae Young
Golden State is trying to rebuild a championship core it never had. The Warriors plan to pursue LeBron James in free agency and trade for Anthony Davis, ESPN reported, a two-pronged push to reunite the duo that won the 2020 title and bolt them onto Stephen Curry while the window is still cracked open.
The mechanics start with money the Warriors just freed up. Draymond Green's decision to decline his $27.7 million option gives Golden State flexibility, and the team can offer James the full $15.1 million non-taxpayer mid-level exception. Davis is the harder piece: a trade would almost certainly have to be built around Jimmy Butler's expiring $57 million contract — Butler is recovering from a torn ACL — plus draft capital from the two future first-round picks and four swaps Golden State has to work with. The pitch to James, per ESPN, is straightforward: reunite with Davis, play alongside Curry and Green for Steve Kerr, and chase one more ring.
There is a large obstacle in Washington. The Wizards have signaled they intend to keep Davis after re-signing Trae Young to a four-year, $212 million deal, with general manager Will Dawkins saying flatly, "He wants to be here. We want him here." League sources cited by ESPN believe the Davis hunt may be as much a recruiting tactic to lure James as a deal Golden State expects to complete.
Either way, the ambition is the tell. Betting a 41-year-old James, an oft-injured Davis, and a pile of draft picks on one more title run is the move of a franchise that has decided its Curry window closes the moment it stops swinging — and after a season that ended with Butler's knee, Golden State has chosen to swing rather than stand pat.
Golden State was not the only contender reshaping around one big swing this offseason; the Celtics traded Jaylen Brown to the 76ers for Paul George and four draft picks.
Neither piece of the plan landed. LeBron James signed with the Philadelphia 76ers instead of Golden State, and the Davis trade never advanced past speculation. Draymond Green re-signed with the Warriors on a one-year, $27.7 million deal — the same figure he had opted out of.
Source: ESPN, NBC Bay Area, Bleacher Report
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