The Golden State Warriors' Ambitious Plan to Trade for Anthony Davis and Lure LeBron James

With NBA free agency negotiations officially opening on July 6th, the most concrete scenario yet for LeBron James leaving the Los Angeles Lakers does not run through Cleveland or Miami, but through the Bay Area, and it comes packaged with a familiar face - Anthony Davis. This report is one of the clearest blueprints floated to date for an actual James exit, and it's an ambitious two-step that has a lot working against it. However, for James, Davis, Curry, and Kerr, the pitch would be simple and tantalizing: reunite with AD, team up with Steph Curry and Draymond Green, play for Steve Kerr, and chase one more championship with a roster of legends.

According to Yahoo! Sports Kevin O'Connor, the Golden State Warriors are attempting to trade for Anthony Davis and then sign James once free agency opens. This framework involves acquiring Davis from the Washington Wizards using a package centered around Jimmy Butler, who is on an expiring $57 million contract, plus draft capital. The Warriors have two future first-round picks and four first-round swaps to work with, which could potentially be used as leverage in the deal. A Davis trade would have to be built around Butler, with the possibility that the latter would have to be rerouted to a third team, making a sign-and-trade element a necessary consideration for James' camp.

James and Davis have a natural chemistry that dates back to their Olympic gold medal-winning days in 2020, where they played alongside Curry and another future NBA champion, Draymond Green. That experience, along with their individual success and reputation, gives this scenario a lot of buzz and makes the fit and the familiarity real. Moreover, the Warriors are selling James on not just the system and Curry, but running it back with the co-star he won his most recent title alongside, with the clock ticking on both their careers. This pitch would be especially hard to resist for a 41-year-old James, who continues to produce at a high level and has been vocal about his desire to win another championship before he's done.

However, there are several obstacles standing in the way of this ambitious plan. Washington, the Wizards, have signaled that they want to keep Davis, not move him. General manager Will Dawkins addressed Davis directly on ESPN's draft broadcast, stating that he wants to be there and that they want him. The Wizards just re-signed Trae Young to a four-year, $212 million extension, and any Davis trade would need to be carefully executed to ensure that the team can still afford to sign him on a four-year, $275 million extension by August 6th.

The math complicating a Davis trade goes beyond the extension timing. With the Wizards having signaled that they don't want to trade Davis, the Warriors will have to make a convincing case to get them on board. This involves offering a combination of draft capital, younger players, and possibly even Butler's expiring contract. Any Davis trade will face significant questions about Butler's own availability, given his advanced age and recent ACL surgery. This adds a layer of complexity that would require a third team - possibly a win-now contender - to be involved, which makes it much harder to pull off.

The Warriors have a history of attempting similar deals in recent years, including failed pursuits of Paul George, Lauri Markkanen, Pascal Siakam, Kevin Durant, and Kawhi Leonard. As O'Connor notes, this plan is part of a larger narrative that the Warriors are trying to 'assemble the old legends' and recreate their championship-winning roster once more. But, as has been the case before, there may not even be a clear path for obtaining Davis, especially with other teams also showing interest in his services - most notably, the Portland Trail Blazers, who could be a strong competitor for his signature in the coming days.

Los Angeles has yet to make its own move, with the Lakers still weighing options for how to handle James' future. The Lakers' limited cap space, from the center search to the recent Reaves deal, means that any serious push to keep James might not be feasible without sacrificing assets or making a bold move to clear the mid-level exception or assemble the necessary components for a sign-and-trade scenario. For James, this is another pressure point on his decision, one that could potentially see him consider the Golden State option more seriously than before.

Ultimately, the Warriors' pursuit of Davis and James represents a long shot, but not one that should be dismissed entirely. If James leaves, the mid-level exception or sign-and-trade may be the likely mechanism, and the Warriors are attempting to position themselves as a contender using the Davis carrot. For James, this is a tantalizing prospect: team up once more with Davis, Curry, and Kerr, and chase that elusive next championship.