The Golden State Warriors might need to bolster their roster to lure LeBron James in free agency, and their chances to make a blockbuster trade might have just gone up.
The Lakers traded center Deandre Ayton to the Wizards for guard Jaden Hardy and two second-round picks.
Now the Wizards have three centers who would expect to get big minutes in Anthony Davis, Alex Sarr and Ayton.
The window for a Davis trade might have just opened again after the Wizards had seemingly shut it down a few days ago.
In truth, I don’t think the Wizards were ever planning on keeping Davis for the long haul. But now they have just a little more incentive to trade him immediately than they did before.
What a Davis-to-Warriors Trade Would Look Like
There’s essentially no way for the Warriors to get Davis without trading Jimmy Butler.
Their 2026-27 salaries are nearly identical. Even if the Warriors would rather keep Butler, he would be the outgoing player.
So the question is, how much draft capital would need to be included to convince the Wizards to pull the trigger on a trade in which they are getting back a player who is out for at least half of the 2026-27 season?
I’ve argued that one lightly protected 2027 first-round pick should be enough, but the Wizards could hold out for an additional first-round pick swap.
I believe the Warriors should have a hard line on giving up more than one first-rounder, but perhaps one first and one swap would be an acceptable compromise.
Shams Say Warriors Need a Big Trade to Get LeBron
ESPN’s Shams Charania said on Friday that the Warriors need to make a big trade to convince James to come. He specifically mentioned Davis again as the player that would give them the best chance at James if the Warriors acquire him.
Perhaps trading for a different star, such as Pelicans wing Trey Murphy III, would also be enough to lure James.
Regardless of who they get, I buy Charania’s logic that the Warriors have to do something.
The Dubs have two main positives in their pitch. They have the closest proximity to Los Angeles of the James suitors, and they can offer the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception of $15 million (they can trade Moses Moody to afford re-signing Draymond Green as well).
As Charania is alluding to, their issue is they don’t have a strong enough healthy supporting cast around Stephen Curry and Green.
Getting Davis would allow the Warriors to compete with other pitches from a competitiveness perspective. Once that gap is narrowed, the Warriors’ advantages could stand out more and lead to James choosing them.
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