Rumor: Warriors believe they are ‘frontrunners’ for LeBron James free agency

The Golden State Warriors made their first big move of the offseason by retaining the 11th pick in the 2026 NBA Draft and selecting Yaxel Lendeborg. Could LeBron James be next for them?

The Los Angeles Lakers unrestricted free agent is currently weighing his options, which many expect are to return to the Lakers, go back to the Cleveland Cavaliers, or join Stephen Curry and the Warriors.

According to ClutchPoints’ insider Brett Siegel, the Warriors believe they have a great shot at landing James as the start of free agency nears.

“In terms of having access to their full mid-level exception, the Warriors firmly believe that they are the frontrunners to land LeBron James if he left the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency. Once again, Golden State is pursuing LeBron, and this will be their best chance yet… assuming James would even consider taking a massive pay cut to join them.

“That is a big ask to go from making $50 million to $15 million or $16 million for the year, but this is LeBron we are talking about. He wants to win at the end of his career, and if there is any player who could afford to take this massive reduction in salary and still make up for it in his endorsements and business ventures, it’s LeBron.”

Aside from the Warriors, the Cleveland Cavaliers are thought to be among the favorites to be James’ landing spot given that it is home and where he could go for one final season to cap off the career of the great player in professional basketball.

A return to the Lakers also shouldn’t be ruled out, although they don’t appear to be each other’s focal points as free agency opens up in a few days.

In his age 41 season, LeBron James was still incredibly effective for the Lakers while simultaneously having arguably the worst statistical season of his NBA career. In 60 appearances last season, James averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, 7.2 assists, and 1.2 steals per game.

That’s still a fantastic season for any other player, but by James’ standards, it’s the lowest scoring average and the third lowest rebounding average of his 23-year career. Along with that, however, it’s also the fewest minutes a game James has played (33.2) and the fewest field goals attempted a night (15.3 per).

Fans got a tease of LeBron James and Stephen Curry on the same team when Team USA won the Gold Medal in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

In what would be his 24th season in the NBA, James has a number of decisions he can make. Free agency is set to begin on June 30th, when teams can begin negotiating with players on new deals.

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