The Golden State Warriors were in the mix for LeBron James before he picked the Philadelphia 76ers. Or were they?
Look, the team got involved. Draymond Green made his pitch. Stephen Curry told LeBron he’d be welcome. Joe Lacob even sent a voice memo. But according to people around the Warriors, nobody in the front office ever really believed it was going to happen. And now Mike Dunleavy Jr. is talking about it.
“The path forward is to win. Never changes,” Dunleavy told ESPN’s Anthony Slater. That’s it. No lamenting what could have been. No pivot to a new big plan. The Warriors’ GM basically said nothing changes just because they didn’t land one of the best players alive.
Why LeBron Didn’t Want In
Draymond Green had a pretty clear read on why it didn’t happen. He talked about it on his podcast.
“Those two places kinda got eliminated just because, you look at Golden State and I ultimately don’t think Bron was able to get over the history,” Green said. “And I understand it, I get it, we always ultimately knew that that was the hurdle to get over.”
That history is real. LeBron and the Warriors went to war four straight NBA Finals. He lost three of them. The idea of him wearing a Golden State jersey after all that? Hard to picture even if the basketball fit made sense.
What’s Next for the Warriors
So now they move on. But don’t expect a splashy trade or some roster overhaul. The Warriors re-signed Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis. They brought back De’Anthony Melton. They added a rookie, Yaxel Lendeborg, who turned some heads during Summer League. That’s about it.
There was a call before the draft from the Boston Celtics, who asked about Jaylen Brown. The Warriors listened. But the asking price cooled those talks fast. The takeaway here is pretty clear: Golden State isn’t swinging for the fences. They’re trying to build, not mortgage whatever future they have left for a quick fix.
It’s not the sexiest approach. But for a team that just watched LeBron walk, it’s apparently the plan.
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