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Golden State Warriors: Imagining LeBron James in the Warriors’ Offense

By Greg Chin

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In a Q&A he conducted yesterday over Twitter, LeBron James revealed two things of note for Golden State Warriors’ fans. The first thing was that the Oracle Arena was one of his favourite stadiums to play in, and the second was that he rated the Warriors’ offense as one of the most difficult defensive assignments in the league.

Since it’s the offseason and there isn’t a lot of Warriors-related news to cover, I thought it would fun to throw around fun hypotheticals. Mainly, how a Warriors’ offense would look if it sported a certain LeBron James.

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But before we get to the fun stuff, let me clarify: I am not, in any way, suggesting that the Warriors will make a play for James in the near future. This is merely fantasy talk, or one of the many “what if” scenarios that gets talked about at the watercooler.

If LeBron James were on the Warriors, he would be the starting small forward. For those that think starting James over Harrison Barnes would do more harm than good, you need to seriously re-think that train of thought. James is better than Barnes in nearly every aspect of the game (you could make a case for Barnes’ three-point shooting) and would be an instant upgrade at that position for the Warriors.

However, swapping Barnes out for James would also force the Warriors to rethink their offense. It would be a waste of his talent to have James play in the exact same role that Barnes does, since Barnes rarely handles the ball (1.2 minutes of possession per game, compared to James’ 6.1 minutes per game).

Personally, I think that LeBron James’ best asset is his passing. While some may dispute this, I feel as though he was at his best with the Miami Heat when he had the ball in his hands and was creating for others. James is such an extraordinary talent that he demands nearly all of the defensive attention when he’s on the ball, which relieves some of the defensive pressure on his teammates. Kyrie Irving and Matthew Dellavedova’s three-point percentages last season were an improvement over their 2013-14 numbers.

For the Warriors to maximise LeBron’s contribution in the offense, LeBron will have to be the lead ball-handler. This will definitely result in a decline in Stephen Curry’s possession minutes, but could end up yielding even better shooting numbers from the already lights-out shooter. Just imagine: the defense collapsing around LeBron James as he drives hard into the paint, only to kick out to a wide-open Curry from behind the arc. And with Klay Thompson and Draymond Green on the perimeter, LeBron will have a multitude of shooters to choose from.

While he was with the Miami Heat, their best lineup was basically James surrounded by three-point shooters at every position. Ironically, the Warriors found success against James’ Cavaliers in the 2015 NBA Finals by going small with shooters everywhere and Draymond Green playing center. If James were a Warrior, the Warriors’ small-ball lineup would look like this: Curry, Thompson, Iguodala/Barnes, James, Green. If that isn’t the league’s most fearsome small-ball lineup, I don’t know what is.

Jun 16, 2015; Cleveland, OH, USA; Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James (23) drives against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the fourth quarter of game six of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

The only downside to this hypothetical scenario is Curry’s reduced role in the offense. After last season’s performance, Curry propelled himself to the top of the “best point guard in the league” debate for many fans. There are countless highlights of the Warriors’ superstar leading the fast break and pulling up for three, matched only by the highlights of him breaking his defenders’ ankles with slick ball-handling. Playing LeBron and Curry alongside each other is sure to have its teething problems – just look at LeBron and Dwyane Wade’s first season together, or the rocky moments Irving and James had just last season.

The question then boils down to whether playing Curry in a more off-the-ball role does more harm or good. LeBron’s talent is unquestionable, but perhaps the Warriors have the perfect combination of team philosophy, tactics, and personnel that can trump one player’s talent (as great as he might be).

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