LeBron James’ NBA future remains uncertain as free agency gets underway in roughly 24 hours. Now, amid rumors that the Golden State Warriors are pursuing James, ESPN’s NBA insider Shams Charania has revealed the dominoes that would have to fall for the 41-year-old to join Stephen Curry and Co.
Shams Charania Reveals LeBron James Will Only Join Warriors If They Trade for Anthony Davis
The Warriors are interested in signing the four-time NBA champion, and Charania detailed how this super-team could come to fruition. It’s no coincidence that every rumor linking the Warriors to James also mentions that Golden State is trying to acquire Anthony Davis via a trade with the Washington Wizards. According to Charania, that’s because James’ interest in joining the Warriors is conditional on a Davis trade.
“The Warriors formulated a grand plan of putting together a ‘Big 4’ of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James. But in order to do that, they needed the flexibility of Green opting out of his contract,” Charania said on SportsCenter on Monday shortly after Green declined his $27.7 million player option.
Reporting for @SportsCenter on the Warriors ramifications after Draymond Green’s surprising opt-out: pic.twitter.com/JWBYuAqGBq
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2026
With Green opting out and creating cap flexibility, the next steps involve trading Jimmy Butler and other assets for Davis, which the Warriors hope would lure James into signing for the mid-level exception.
“AD and LeBron James would have to be a package deal to come to Golden State [to] team up with Green and Curry,” Charania revealed. “In this sequencing of events, Green would opt out as he did to take a multi-year deal at less than $27 million a year. AD would require a trade of Jimmy Butler and draft capital. That would mean LeBron James potentially at the mid-level exception. This is a sequencing of events that takes several days, a process obviously.”
Based on Charania’s reporting, it seems James is only willing to consider Golden State “as a package deal” with Davis. In this scenario, James would be taking a major pay cut to join the Warriors, as he earned $52.6 million last year with the Los Angeles Lakers and signing with Golden State on the mid-level exception would pay James just $15.1 million next season.
It’s worth noting that Yahoo Sports’ NBA analyst Kevin O’Connor, who initially reported Golden State’s pursuit of James and Davis, reported that Washington currently has no desire to move Davis. That lines up with what Wizards general manager Will Dawkins said last week on ESPN’s NBA Draft broadcast.
“He wants to be here. We want him here,” Dawkins said.
The Warriors are no strangers to building superteams, having previously paired Curry, Green, and Klay Thompson with Kevin Durant. That team enjoyed a dominant era, winning three NBA championships against James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Seven years since their last NBA Finals battle, Curry and Green joining forces with James would certainly make for a remarkable storyline. The only question that remains is whether the Warriors can make it happen… or if this is all just a leverage play from James and Davis.
