Dan Woike and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported on Friday that the Golden State Warriors' interest in LeBron James remains "serious" (subscription required). They're going to go big-name hunting this summer, or at least try to, so that's not surprising. With LeBron's next step unclear, it makes sense that he's an option the Warriors are considering. I mean, look at who we're talking about.
The thing is, though, March might've ruined the chances of that happening. Woike and Amick wrote that the Lakers' streak, which led to their fourth-place finish in the West, lowered the chances of a LeBron-LA breakup.
"After months of speculation that the two parties were headed for a divorce, a strong March changed the Lakers’ landscape and, potentially, the future between the organization and player. Winning, sources said, increased the chances of James and the Lakers extending their partnership."
LeBron could be trending toward staying with Lakers
The Athletic made it clear that LeBron retiring still isn't out of the question and that it's reportedly "false" that he'll need a farewell tour. He could throw a curveball and make this season his last, which would abruptly end the LBJ to Golden State speculation.
We'd all like to believe this isn't the last we'll see of LeBron (unless you're a hater), but anything can happen. If he does decide to play a 24th season, it will be up to him where that is.
The Lakers are still reportedly open to letting him return for another year. There is nothing left for LeBron to prove, but he still values winning. It didn't seem like he would have all that great of a chance to do that in LA, but the tide started to shift in March.
They won nine straight games and 13 of 14 to climb up to third in the West. All of a sudden, Los Angeles looked like it could make a deep playoff run. Injuries to Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves hurt those chances, but neither has been ruled out for the playoffs yet.
Even if the Lakers' season flames out sooner than they'd like, you have to think LeBron likes the idea of running it back in purple and gold. But hey, maybe the allure of teaming up with Steph Curry and Draymond Green in the Bay might be too much for him to ignore. Those two will do what they can to recruit him over to San Francisco.
And if it doesn't work out because LeBron wants to spend his final season in Los Angeles with the Lakers, that could actually be a good thing for Golden State because of the cost.
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