As LeBron James has the NBA world in the palm of his hand, Golden State Warriors fans and analysts are wondering if the Dubs might make some sort of move to entice James to bring his talents to the Bay Area.Â
The most popular idea is that the Warriors would try to acquire Anthony Davis who was teammates with James on the Los Angeles Lakers. Reporting suggests the Warriors have no interest in doing this, but it might be one of the few ways they can try to tip the scales in their favor if they want to win the LeBron sweepstakes.
There is another, decidedly less expensive but infinitely sadder, option on the table though that could at least signal to James and his camp that the Warriors want him: they could sign Kevin Love.
Warriors are limited in how they can influence LeBron's decision
Okay, okay. Please put the pitchforks down. Yes, it’s a long shot and it would be incredibly embarrassing to grovel to James like that by signing a washed up veteran who hasn’t been all that relevant in the NBA for a while.
Last year with the Utah Jazz, Love averaged 6.7 points per game and shot just under 40% from the field and 37.3% from three. He played in just 37 games and averaged 16.6 minutes per game.
The soon-to-be 38-year-old California native would be yet another veteran to add to an already bordering-on-geriatric roster, but he and James do have some good memories together from their time with the Cleveland Cavaliers. That title in 2016 just so happens to be one of the darkest memories in the history of the Warriors. If the Warriors did sign Love and then James followed, it would truly feel like some weird upside-down reality.
But there are limited moves at Golden State’s disposal to try to influence this process. If they don’t want to acquire Davis, then it’s tough to see what signing or trade would really move the needle enough to convince James to join.
Love is basically a non-factor at this point in his career so he doesn’t make the team better, but at least when James and Love are both injured and on the bench they can swap old stories from the Cavs days. That shouldn’t upset anyone else on the bench, right?
The most embarrassing thing would be if the Warriors signed Love and then James went somewhere else. Golden State would be left with egg on their face. Maybe in that scenario they could bring back Klay Thompson which would be kind of fun since the Warriors nearly traded Thompson for Love back in his days with the Minnesota Timberwolves -- a move which would’ve changed the course of NBA history.
It would be sad, but there’s not much else the Warriors can do right now if they want James. Perhaps they can sign Love and that can be the cheap option of trying to lure James into signing as a free agent.
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