Draymond Green Pitched LeBron James on the Warriors During a Golf Trip and It Might Have Worked

LeBron James has the entire NBA waiting on his decision. Again. And just when it looked like the sweepstakes had narrowed to three teams, the Golden State Warriors are back in the conversation.

According to NBA insider Jake Fischer on Bleacher Report, the Warriors have been on what he called a roller coaster in the LeBron sweepstakes. At one point they looked like the front-runner. Then they didn’t. Now they’re right back in the mix.

“I also think that there’s been a kind of roller coaster experience on the Golden State piece of all this, where the Warriors seemed to be like the front-runner at one point in time, and then it seemed like the Warriors were very much not the front-runner,” Fischer said. “I do think the Warriors are still as involved as any team. I want to say that too.”

It makes sense why Golden State would be a serious option. LeBron has a well-documented friendship with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green. And speaking of Green, he spent part of the weekend with LeBron in Puerto Rico playing golf. That’s convenient timing.

Green’s Pitch

Green didn’t exactly hide what happened on that trip. On his podcast, he basically confirmed he tried to recruit LeBron while they had 18 holes together.

“You know, I’d be crazy if we’re together for X amount of days, and at no point if I’m like ‘yo, we need to chop it up. Like what the hell is going on. What are we doing?’” Green said. “Of course I did that. Of course the pitch was crazy. Since I think I’m pretty decent at it, doesn’t change anything. Doesn’t make anything happen.”

So Green admits he made a pitch. He acknowledges it was good. But he also downplays it like it didn’t move the needle. Maybe that’s true. Or maybe it’s exactly what you’d say if you wanted to keep things quiet.

The Rest of the Field

The Cavaliers, Heat, and Sixers have been considered the favorites recently. Cleveland has the emotional pull. Miami has the Pat Riley mystique. Philadelphia has the cap space and Joel Embiid. But the Warriors have something those teams don’t: a ready-made contender with Curry, Green, and a system that already works. LeBron wouldn’t have to wait for a rebuild. He’d just slide in.

ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that every team involved still believes they have a real shot. And you better believe Golden State is one of them. Whether LeBron actually wants to join the team he’s battled in four Finals is another question. But the Warriors are still knocking. Draymond made sure of that.