The Golden State Warriors have had interest in adding LeBron James for a number of years, but this offseason might be as good a chance as any of actually landing the 4x MVP.
James will be a free agent this offseason and his future at the Los Angeles Lakers is up in the air, but it's Draymond Green who might hold the key to the superstar forward joining the Warriors this summer.
Draymond Green can grant Warriors their LeBron James wish
With Golden State facing numerous decisions this summer and injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody set to impact next season, Tim Kawakami of The San Francisco Standard believes the franchise might be desperate enough to strongly chase either James or L.A. Clippers star Kawhi Leonard.
"I think all the dire circumstances and frightful indicators of this season are leading the Warriors down this do-or-die path. And I think there is a way this kind of desperate move actually could work," Kawakami wrote.
Yet one of the biggest offseason storylines actually isn't in the franchise's control, with Green holding a $27.7 million player option that's going to drastically alter their flexibility and the kind of moves they can make, including the potential of signing James or Leonard.
As Kawakami outlines, Green opting out and taking a deal around $20 million per year (or ideally even less) could allow the Warriors to re-sign Kristaps Porzingis as an unrestricted free agent AND sign James to something around the non-taxpayer mid-level exception.
Green's noted relationship with the Lakers superstar could be also be an influential factor, and the chances of him actually opting out and taking less will likely spike significantly if Golden State make it known that James or another substantial move is on the cards.
Warriors could form star-studded but old, injury-prone team
Landing James or Leonard would give the Warriors an incredibly star-studded starting five, assuming they can re-sign Porzingis which is likely to be a priority based on the veteran center's recent form where he's scored 20+ points in four of the last seven games, including scoring a game-high 28 in Friday's win over the Washington Wizards.
Golden State could wind up with a combination of Stephen Curry, Butler, James, Green and Porzingis. The issue with that is Butler likely won't return until halfway through the season, Curry is 38-years-old and currently missing at least 25 games with a knee injury, James is 41-years-old, and Porzingis has played more than 57 games just once in the past nine years.
It's more of a hypothetical team than one we might see too often in reality, but it's the kind of risk the Warriors might need to take if they want to make one more deep playoff run next season.