Draymond Green has never been shy about telling people what he thinks. And on his podcast this week, he went to bat for LeBron James in a way that cut through the usual age-related talk.
James just finished his 23rd NBA season at age 41. That alone is ridiculous. He averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds across 60 games for the Lakers. In the playoffs those numbers ticked up to 23.2 points, 7.3 assists and 6.7 boards. But Green thinks fans are missing the bigger picture.
“I still think people don’t understand the force the weight that this guy carry, from an overall standpoint,” Green said on The Draymond Green Show. “The economics that he brings to a team, the economic impact that he may have on the city, and then also the basketball, like anytime LeBron James is on the floor, a team have a chance to win. But you have to account for him in a major way, and I think personally, the Lakers are going to feel that next year.”
That last part is worth sitting on. Green is basically saying the Lakers are about to find out what happens when James isn’t around. James is an unrestricted free agent after deciding to leave Los Angeles following eight seasons. Multiple teams are already circling — the Heat, the Cavaliers and Green’s own Warriors among them.
What’s next for LeBron
James wants to be on a contender. That much is clear. The Warriors would need to make significant roster improvements to get there, but the idea of pairing him with Stephen Curry and Green is the kind of thing that keeps NBA fans refreshing Twitter all summer.
The Lakers are the team that might feel the absence most directly. Not just in the win column but in everything else Green mentioned — the money, the attention, the sheer gravity James brings to a franchise. Teams don’t just replace a player like that. They don’t even really replace half of it.
It’s rare for a player at 41 to be this much of a free agent story. But James isn’t rare because he’s old. He’s old and still this good, which is the part Green thinks people don’t fully appreciate. If he ends up in Golden State alongside Curry and Green, the Western Conference gets even more interesting than it already is.
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