[Kawakami] But what if LeBron wants to play and he and the Lakers can’t figure out what the salary number should be?… Well, now. If all that happens, I think the Warriors would be a very live option. Check that: I think the process has already started and the Warriors are a live option.
If you’re the Warriors and you’ve recently committed to jump-starting a new era with much more youth and energy, it might seem enormously contradictory to ponder adding a 41-year-old who has played more games than anybody else in NBA history.
And if you’re LeBron James and you’ve spent more than a decade battling against Stephen Curry’s team — and you know the Warriors can’t pay you anything close to a max salary — it might seem entirely bizarre to even consider coming to this franchise.
LeBron to the Warriors? I’ve typed those words many times over the last decade or so. Most years, it seemed (and was) absurd. Once or twice, if you ask top Warriors executives, the idea might’ve had the wink of a glimmer of a distant chance, but it was never really plausible.
But now … LeBron leaving the Lakers to join the Warriors seems like something everybody should at least toss around a bit. It’s not likely, but not impossible either. And it could be an extremely practical solution as the Warriors and LeBron both face the summation of a lot of things.
The practicality is the whole point, really, if you go through this set of potential circumstances:
• LeBron’s upcoming free agency might not get the response he wants from the Lakers because the Lakers understandably are prioritizing the roster formulation around Luka Doncic and also have to re-sign Austin Reaves.
• The Warriors, along with Cleveland, the Knicks, and maybe a few other teams, would probably be on LeBron’s very short list of potential destinations at this stage in his career.
Playing for the Warriors and in this major market has always intrigued LeBron just a little bit, playing with Curry and Draymond Green has always intrigued him more than a little bit, he’s won a gold medal with Steve Kerr, and the Bay Area is obviously a short flight from LeBron’s established base in Southern California.
• If they maneuver their roster and payroll just enough, the Warriors could offer LeBron the \(15.1 million nontaxpayer midlevel exception, which is monumentally short of the \)52.6 million he made this season but is more than some other possible teams could pay him.
And, very importantly, the Warriors would not have to trade anything or unload any major salaries to do it. This would be a direct add.
Again, I don’t think LeBron ending up with the Warriors is the likeliest scenario. I think it’s set up for him to return to the Lakers; they’re the one likely option that could pay him a lot more than $15.1 million. Also, LeBron could retire.
But what if LeBron wants to play and he and the Lakers can’t figure out what the salary number should be? Or what if the Lakers want to erase his entire salary slot to get way under the cap and add a younger star who fits Doncic’s timeline? What if LeBron and the Lakers go through a relationship reevaluation similar to what Kerr and the Warriors just went through, but in this one, the two sides decide to split?
Well, now. If all that happens, I think the Warriors would be a very live option. Check that: I think the process has already started and the Warriors *are* a live option.
Because the Lakers might not be able to get significantly better if they keep LeBron. And the Warriors might not be able to get significantly better *unless* they add LeBron.
That’s not the romantic ideal of wooing an all-time great to your side. It wouldn’t be as momentous as Kevin Durant signing with the Warriors in 2016 and sealing the dynasty. LeBron-to-the-Warriors in 2026 would be sensible. Functional. Transactional. Maybe it’d feel a little clunky and forced on both sides.
It’d definitely be a late-stage marriage of convenience. A weary merger of two titanic brands that need some boosting. And maybe it wouldn’t be beloved by anybody.
Yes, I get it. At this point, Warriors fans are bellowing: How would signing LeBron make the team younger and healthier? My answer: LeBron is old but actually remains quite durable; he registered 1,989 minutes this regular season, more than every Warrior except Brandin Podziemski. (More info: LeBron has averaged 2,195 minutes over the last five seasons.)
And adding LeBron wouldn’t conflict much with Kerr’s flat statements that the team isn’t championship worthy anymore and has to get younger. If the Warriors sign LeBron as a $15.1 million free agent, they would get the immediate upgrade without having to trade any future draft picks or ruin their cap situation.
The Warriors are determined to think more about the future, but that doesn’t mean they have no interest in being as competitive as possible while they rebuild for the future. Clearly, any team with Curry isn’t going to completely ignore the present.
Source: https://sfstandard.com/2026/06/01/lebron-james-warriors-free-agency-targets/