The idea of Stephen Curry and LeBron James pairing up for an entire NBA season with the Golden State Warriors was fun to think about for a few weeks. But now that James has decided to sign with the Philadelphia 76ers, the Warriors have to move forward.
James had the NBA world holding its breath for much of July as the 41-year-old entered free agency and weighed options that included the Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Philadelphia 76ers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat. Several, including Curry, made public pitches to try and lure James. While playing in the American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament in Lake Tahoe, Nev., the veteran point guard was asked what his recruiting pitch to James would be.
“Do you want to play good basketball and be around people who know how to play the game?” Curry told reporters. “Raise our floor, competitiveness. … There’s good golf in the Bay. … We’re an organization that’s been there (winning championships). He knows that, and that’s really self-explanatory. It’s just a matter of where he sees himself fitting. And at the end of the day, that’s up to him.”
The reality that many Warriors fans need to accept is that, even with James in the fold, this group wasn’t going to be good enough next season to compete for a title. Now that it’s official, the next biggest question GM Mike Dunleavy has to figure out is what happens with Green.
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Green, who opted out of his nearly $28 million player option to become a free agent, struggled to find consistency throughout much of last season, especially on the offensive end. Since he’s 36, it’s tough to imagine a scenario in which he improves upon the 8.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists he averaged over 68 games last season.
He has moments where he shows the defensive fire that has helped define his career, and like Curry, he is one of the core pieces of the Warriors dynasty. What Dunleavy and owner Joe Lacob have to decide is how much — and how many years — they’re willing to give Green given what he displayed last year. Do they give him a contract based on his past contributions and what he’s meant to the organization or his current value in the marketplace?
While it seems to be a foregone conclusion at this point that Green will return to the only NBA team he’s ever played for, he acknowledged an uncertain future after the Warriors’ Play-In Tournament loss to the Phoenix Suns in April.
“I still love to play, and I think I’m still pretty decent,” Green said at the time. “But this league we’re in, it’s an interesting one. And it’s one that you don’t really control everything, so for me, I hope I’ve done enough to still be here. Because at the end of the day, if I ain’t done enough, I don’t want to be here.”
After the Warriors figure out Green’s future, the next step is filling out the rest of the roster.
Popular veteran guard Gary Payton II could be brought back to be a spark plug off the bench, but his presence isn’t going to move the needle much for a fanbase that was hoping one of the greatest players of all time would join the team. No matter which player Dunleavy adds to fill the final roster spot, the organization has to hope that the development seen among many younger players over the summer continues.
Yaxel Lendeborg, the No. 11 pick in June’s draft, made a strong first impression in his first month as a pro, earning MVP honors in the Las Vegas Summer League while leading the Warriors to a summer-league championship. While the consistency of his defense needs to tighten up before the start of a long 82-game season, his offense looks ready-made to contribute early. He averaged 14.8 points, 6.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists in six games.
Ironically, when Lendeborg was asked earlier this summer if there was a player he hoped he could model himself after, he said he “definitely would have to go with LeBron.”
“He’s been doing that at the highest level since he was, like, 10. And he’s had so much adversity on his back,” Lendeborg told The Athletic. “He’s the reason why I don’t believe that pressure’s real. He said it in an interview, and just the way he said it, it’s, like, maybe it really isn’t real.
“Maybe I’m just playing myself with this. He really motivates me.”
In addition to Lendeborg, Will Richard, LJ Cryer and Malevy Leons look poised to take advantage of their minutes off Steve Kerr’s bench as well. Cryer, who played in 18 games as a rookie last season, led the Warriors’ summer-league squad with 15.0 points and 4.2 assists per game.
Also on Dunleavy’s docket is deciding whether to sign Brandin Podziemski to an extension before the season begins. Dunleavy and the Warriors believe in Podziemski, and the young guard has said he wants to remain in the Bay, so there seems to be a push from both sides to try to get a deal done. Whether that happens before the season begins remains to be seen, but James’ decision to sign elsewhere was like tearing a Band-Aid off a fanbase’s long-simmering frustrations about a lackluster offseason.
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The Warriors have to face the reality that has been staring at them ever since Jimmy Butler tore the ACL in his right knee in January. They have to hope their young players develop and Curry’s knee issue, which sidelined him for more than two months last season, can be managed during the year.
James’ presence wasn’t going to fix all the Warriors’ issues, but his absence makes all the question marks rise to the surface even more.
