The Golden State Warriors received a needed dose of encouragement Monday afternoon, minutes after an ESPN insider report appeared to push them toward the back of the LeBron James sweepstakes.
Andscape senior NBA writer Marc J. Spears said on NBA Today that an NBA head coach had recently identified Golden State, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Philadelphia 76ers as the teams believed to be under James’ consideration.
“I did hear, as one NBA head coach — this is just the latest whatever I’ve heard — said Philly, Cleveland or Golden State is what they heard,” Spears said. “And that’s what I heard, the latest thing, which means nothing.”
Spears’ caveat cannot be ignored. He was relaying the latest information heard by a coach, not reporting that James had formally narrowed his choices or eliminated other suitors.
But for a Warriors team that had just received an unfavorable update from ESPN NBA insider Shams Charania, inclusion in Spears’ three-team group qualified as welcome news.
Marc Spears’ LeBron Intel Helps Warriors
Charania reported moments earlier that James’ focus over the previous two weeks had centered primarily on three Eastern Conference teams: Cleveland, Philadelphia and the Miami Heat.
Golden State and the Minnesota Timberwolves remained among the five teams awaiting James’ decision, Charania said, but neither was included in the group commanding most of his attention.
Spears’ information presented a sharply different picture.
His list retained Cleveland and Philadelphia, replaced Miami with Golden State and suggested that the Warriors might be more prominently involved than Charania’s reporting indicated.
The conflicting updates show how opaque James’ process remains. Miami cannot be considered eliminated based on Spears’ secondhand information, just as Golden State cannot be ruled out based on Charania’s assessment of where James has focused recently.
Still, for the Warriors, the latest league chatter was far more encouraging.
Rich Paul Says LeBron James Has Not Decided
Charania said he spoke Monday morning with Rich Paul, James’ longtime agent and the chief executive of Klutch Sports.
According to Paul, James has collected the information he wanted and every interested team has completed its pitch. The decision now belongs solely to the four-time NBA champion.
“The choice is LeBron James’ right now,” Charania said. “It’s up to him on a choice of which team he wants to play for. All of the information is in. The teams are set. Everyone’s made their moves.”
James has not chosen a team, Charania added, and there is no timetable for an announcement.
That contradicted former Lakers guard Patrick Beverley’s social-media speculation that James could decide Monday. Beverley attributed the claim only to a rumor.
Warriors’ LeBron James Pitch Remains Unique
Golden State’s basketball case begins with Stephen Curry.
Pairing Curry and James would unite two defining stars of their generation for one final championship pursuit. Their chemistry during Team USA’s run to Olympic gold in Paris offered a glimpse of how the partnership could function.
The Warriors also possess a geographic advantage. Playing in the Bay Area would allow James to remain a short flight from the Los Angeles home where his wife, Savannah, and daughter Zhuri have established their lives.
Spears’ information does not make Golden State the favorite. By his own admission, it might ultimately mean nothing.
But after Charania’s report placed three Eastern teams ahead of the Warriors, simply hearing Golden State included in another three-team group was meaningful progress.
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