Sources: Warriors could set up talks with LeBron James if max deal is available

[benji]

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2228 ... bron-james

Chris Haynes
ESPN Staff Writer

If the Golden State Warriors can create a max salary slot this offseason, the defending NBA champions could position themselves to secure a meeting with LeBron James, league sources told ESPN.

There is no indication that Golden State is evaluating such options to acquire the Cleveland Cavaliers star at this time.

A sign-and-trade scenario would be the most realistic way for Golden State to acquire James. The Warriors could build an offer around Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala to match salary and tempt the Cavaliers into making a deal, according to ESPN's Kevin Pelton.

To make a sign-and-trade possible, Golden State also would need Kevin Durant to decline his player option and take even less than his current annual salary of $25 million, as well as moving Shaun Livingston's salary to a team with cap space. Golden State likely would have to fill out its bench with players making the league minimum.

THE MOST POWERFUL NAME IN SPORTS!

lol

[Andrew]

Seems unlikely, but the fact that it's possible makes me wonder why the league even bothers to have a salary cap these days.

[benji]

You probably always could have signed a max player if you dumped three of your top six contracts/players for nothing, got your second highest paid player to take another discount from the one he already took and filled out the roster with league minimum contracts.

[Lamrock]

This is why people don't watch games, and why memes have become the best part of the NBA. Even though this probably won't happen, would it surprise anybody if it did? And would it even move the needle?

[Axel The Great]

I sincerely hope this doesn't happen, but I'm sure LeBron would get even more heat (hehe, get it?) from fans than KD did.

[Jackal]

I'll quit watching the NBA if this happens.

[Andrew]

This is why people don't watch games, and why memes have become the best part of the NBA. Even though this probably won't happen, would it surprise anybody if it did? And would it even move the needle?

Spot on.

[benji]

https://www.theringer.com/nba/2018/2/1/ ... iors-rumor

[SoF'nAwesome]

Chris Haynes really on that clickbait shit huh

[benji]

Led to some fantastic corporate synergy though:
https://twitter.com/espn/status/959284073372925952

https://twitter.com/FirstTake/status/959094691278020608

[Sauru]

KD would be dying for this to happen. people would forget all about his bitch ass move and talk about how soft lebron is

[Jackal]

No one should ever forget what a bitch KD is. I doubt anyone will for a long, long time after his cringe worthy social media fiasco as well.

[air gordon]

regardless of what KD does, it looks like lebron will have the spotlight. his pending free agency status and the cavs being so crappy will keep him in the headlines

[Sauru]

regardless of what KD does, it looks like lebron will have the spotlight. his pending free agency status and the cavs being so crappy will keep him in the headlines

the cavs being such a mess gives lebron an easy out. i cant imagine anyone blaming him for leaving this time. sure you will have some idiots doing dumb shit on social media but you get cant stop dumb people from doing dumb shit

[air gordon]

he's a big cause for the mess. its him and his klutch sports group that forced management to give those contracts to the useless thompson and smith (incidentally klutch clients). he's holding the team hostage in making a significant move. Management rightfully so is reluctant to trade the brooklyn pick since they don't know if James will leave. and of course there's the Irving fallout

[Andrew]

LeBron's like teflon when it comes to taking blame for that, though. It's easy enough for the prominent talking heads to spin it as management failing LeBron, and then that becomes the narrative. If he does bolt from Cleveland again, assuming he doesn't arrange another big special or anything, I think he can come out of it looking like the good guy.

Unless he joins the Warriors, of course. Only the most sycophantic apologists are going to let him come back from that one.

[air gordon]

that's a possibility. it depends on the how one defines "blame" and "good" guy. fact remains that James heavily influenced those thompson and smith signings and Cleveland has yet to deal that pick.

seems just over a month ago the media coverage was praising James for putting up great numbers despite the mileage on his body. wow.

[Andrew]

On the subject of LeBron leaving: "LeBron James: I Would Never Waive My No-Trade Clause"

LeBron James publicly confirmed he will not waive his no-trade clause with the Cleveland Cavaliers ahead of this week's trade deadline.

"I'm here for the long haul," James said. "I'm here for this season right now, [to] try to figure out ways we can still compete. I couldn't give up on my teammates like that. I couldn't do that. I just couldn't do it. We put too much into the game every single day. We go out and prepare. Win, lose or draw, at the end of the day, we're all brothers, and we understand that. I owe it to my teammates to finish this season out no matter how it ends up. I would never waive my no-trade clause."

Now, it's way too easy to read into off-the-cuff remarks made to reporters in the wake of a disappointing loss, but it is interesting that he mentions the long haul at first, but then dials it back to simply finishing the season. That could just as easily mean focusing on the short term goal of competing for a championship this season, which is obviously going to be a priority until such time as the 2018 season comes to an end one way or another, but every so often he'll drop a hint that he's at least considering moving on in the offseason.

[Jackal]

With all the shit that's coming out of Cleveland it just seems as if he's setting himself up to leave without the backlash he faced the first time around.

He made his bed when he got those awful deals signed and now he's acting as if Cleveland didn't do it all for him. He holds them hostage by giving them no long term security, gets all his boys paid big time, gets washed up Rose and Wade then still whines about not having a playmaker.

Bitch you assembled that team.

Dude is going to Houston to play with Harden and CP3 most probably.

[air gordon]

i agree less backlash than the first time but more if you compare it to when he left Miami... assuming he leaves... it will be worse than that. When he left from Miami, it was a nice PR job with that letter saying he's coming back home/bring a title to cleveland. Riley gains another wrinkle if you still ask him thoughts on that situation.

i'm sure they'll use the narrative of Gilbert is a douche, i think already the anti Gilbert reports are coming out.

embarrassing loss to the Magic smh

[Andrew]

He made some interesting comments in the wake of the Blake Griffin trade, too.

"When a player gets traded, [the front office] was doing what was best for the franchise," James said. "But when a player decides to leave, he's not loyal, he's a snake, he's not committed.

"That's the narrative of how it goes. I know that firsthand."

He's got a fair point about the double standard, of course, but at the same time, you can't help but wonder if he's paving the way to depart Cleveland and trying to preempt the inevitable backlash.

[Axel The Great]

Dude is going to Houston to play with Harden and CP3 most probably.

Trying to think past the boner I get from this notion, I really hope that if this actually happens, he doesn't hold the Rockets hostage the way he has in Cleveland. I like what the Rockets have built to this point, and sincerely hope Morey takes none of that bullshit.

[Jackie Kong]

I can totally picture Lebron picking the Spurs. He is always praising Pop and Spurs have a thing for extending players careers. Not sure if Lebron would like to be coached by a proven nba coach though considered that was never the case in the past. The most proven coach that he got was Blatt and we all know how that ended, lol.