The Golden State Warriors are reportedly gearing up to pursue LeBron James and Anthony Davis in hopes of forming a Big 4 alongside Stephen Curry and Draymond Green.
On Monday, Green declined his $27.6 million player option, which ESPN’s NBA insider Shams Charania stated was to give Golden State the flexibility to pursue James and Davis. However, Charania’s ESPN colleague Brian Windhorst isn’t necessarily buying the Big 4 idea.
Brian Windhorst Wonders If LeBron James, Anthony Davis Green Are Using the Warriors
On “The Rich Eisen Show,” Windhorst said some NBA executives are hesitant to believe the latest Warriors rumors. Instead, they believe that James and Davis are using Golden State for leverage in order to get the biggest paydays possible from their respective teams. It’s worth noting that James, Davis, and Green are all represented by agent Rich Paul.
“The people in the league that I’m talking to today are giving me the side eye,” Windhorst said. “They’re going: this is gonna end up with Draymond Green getting a new contract in Golden State, LeBron getting a new contract in Los Angeles and Anthony Davis getting a new contract in Washington…
“We just saw last week, the actions of the Lakers seeing another offer for one of their players and then increasing their offer,” Windhorst added, referring to Los Angeles increasing their offer to Austin Reaves and ultimately inking him to a four-year, $185 million contract after the Detroit Pistons freed up significant cap room to pursue him.
“We just saw last week the Wizards giving Trae Young $200 million in a contract extension. If I’m Anthony Davis, I’m saying, ‘Well, if they’re gonna give Trae Young a contract extension, why wouldn’t they give me a contract extension?’ I’m not saying I know, but part of this could be creating leverage for AD and LeBron in both Washington and L.A. and then everybody gets paid on a contract. Or, they could all end up in Golden State.”
Davis is eligible for a contract extension this offseason from Washington, while James and Green are unrestricted free agents. Could this be a ploy for Davis to get his payday, while James gets the most money out of the Los Angeles Lakers, and Green inks a lucrative multi-year deal to stay in Golden State?
Warriors analyst Sam Esfandiari seemingly agreed with the assessment: “The Lacob’s are definitely easy marks to be Arson Judged. No doubt about that.”
James, Curry, and Green each have four NBA championship rings, while Davis has one. It remains to be seen whether the Warriors can pull this off and whether a team featuring James at age 41, Curry at 38, Green at 36, and Davis at 33 can truly contend amid concerns about their age and health.
It’s possible that James, Davis, and Green are plotting behind the scenes and actually trying to team up in Golden State. But, as Windhorst notes, it’s also easy to connect the dots and see how it could all just be a leverage play.
