LAS VEGAS — The NBA Summer League is usually about rookie evaluations and front office gossip. This year, it’s also become a backdrop for the LeBron James sweepstakes, and the most interesting development so far has nothing to do with a general manager picking up the phone.
Draymond Green spent real time with LeBron recently. Not just a quick hello at an event or a text exchange. They took a trip together, hung out, and Green used that time to make a full-court pitch on behalf of the Golden State Warriors. According to sources close to the situation, those conversations have left James giving the idea of playing in San Francisco some real, serious thought.
Green’s pitch wasn’t subtle. He laid out every reason why LeBron should team up with him and Stephen Curry. The idea of winning a championship alongside Curry — a guy LeBron has battled in four Finals — is apparently a key selling point. One team source put it bluntly: there wouldn’t be a stronger ending to LeBron’s legacy than winning a ring with Curry. That’s the kind of storybook stuff LeBron loves.
Curry has also been in direct contact with James, mostly through text messages according to a recent ESPN report. It’s not hard to imagine the three of them chatting during that trip to Puerto Rico. The Warriors’ front office, including GM Mike Dunleavy Jr. and owner Joe Lacob, have also been involved in the recruiting process through James’s agent, Rich Paul.
The Warriors think they have a real shot
The organization believes they’re a top suitor. They’ve got two of LeBron’s closest friends in the league — Green and Curry — selling the idea. They’ve got Steve Kerr as coach, a guy LeBron has openly admired for years. They’ve got a roster that, with LeBron, would instantly be a title contender in the West. And there’s the geographic convenience: jumping from Los Angeles to San Francisco midseason isn’t exactly a hardship.
Green even teased the pitch on his podcast, calling it “crazy” and saying it would “make you think twice about it.” He’s still an unrestricted free agent himself, but team sources have said he’ll be back with the Warriors no matter what. The idea of Green leaving to team up with LeBron somewhere else isn’t on the table.
The Warriors also brought in Frank Vogel as an assistant coach this week. Vogel won a title with LeBron in Los Angeles. Team sources say the hire wasn’t specifically designed to lure LeBron, but they also admit it certainly doesn’t hurt their chances.
But the betting money is still on Cleveland
For all the Warriors’ optimism, the consensus among rival team executives at Summer League is that LeBron will go back to Cleveland. The Cavs drafted him first overall in 2003. He’s from Ohio. There’s a certain symmetry to ending his career where it started.
LeBron has also heard from the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets. None of those teams have been told they’re out of the running, though most people in Vegas are downplaying Minnesota and Denver’s actual chances.
James has all the information he needs. The question now is when he’ll actually announce his decision. Could he drop it at the end of Fanatics Fest, where he’s scheduled to record two shows? Maybe. Could he say it on Rich Paul’s show? Also possible. Nobody in Vegas seems to know for sure.
What they do know is this: Green got the last conversation. He got to make the pitch in person, face to face, while every other team had to work through an agent. Whether that’s enough to swing LeBron’s decision is the biggest question left unanswered.
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