LeBron James’ 2026 free agency can’t be discussed without mentioning a potential team-up with career-rival Stephen Curry on the Golden State Warriors.
The Warriors are among James’ shortlist of teams he’s considering as his next destination, with Curry even openly recruiting James by explaining why he should join Golden State.
Advertisement
While other teams seem to be more appealing destinations, even James’ agent Rich Paul couldn’t dismiss the notion of a LeBron-Curry team-up on the Warriors.
On the latest episode of the Game Over podcast, Paul explained to co-host Max Kellerman why the Warriors and Curry are such an enticing fit for James from a strictly basketball perspective.
“If we’re talking strictly basketball, you don’t want to play them. You definitely don’t want to play them in a playoff series. You don’t want to get to the trade deadline and have little surface-edge type of moves made. You talk about just basketball brilliance of mind and experience, production. It’s pretty tough.”
Unfortunately, a potential decision to join the Warriors won’t be treated as a ‘strictly basketball’ move, as fans and experts will be critical of LeBron joining the man and the team who beat him in three NBA Finals.
Advertisement
However, a James-Curry duo with veteran winning players like Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Draymond Green, and later in the season, Jimmy Butler, would definitely be basketball brilliance.
The comfort of playing with veterans like the ones of the Warriors and a genius like Curry is appealing, but their age and roster depth make it hard to buy them as realistic title contenders, even if LeBron joins.
In terms of pure basketball, a fit with the Cavaliers, Timberwolves, 76ers, or even the Heat might lead to a better chance at winning the 2027 NBA title.
The Timberwolves and 76ers are the most obvious and simple fits, with both teams requiring a big frontcourt player to be their starting power forward and plug the holes in their star-led lineups.
Advertisement
The Cavaliers also have a relatively easy fit for James as their starting small forward, but that also might entail a greater scoring and perimeter load than the 41-year-old will be comfortable with in his 24th season.
The race to sign LeBron has plenty of contenders. While ‘basketball brilliance’ is an enticing notion for the 41-year-old legend, it might not be enough to help the Warriors land James.
Read more:
