The Golden State Warriors' offseason, since the conclusion of the 2026 NBA Draft, has centered around one colossal figure— LeBron James.
James informed the Los Angeles Lakers before the start of free agency that he would not be returning, and he's since stated that he's going to gauge interest across the league. The Warriors have long registered a level of interest in James, even at this year's trade deadline. They are by no means the clear-cut favorites in the sweepstakes, but they are certainly an attractive destination for the future Hall of Famer.
They haven't let their pursuit of James stop them from conducting their offseason business, though. They re-signed both Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis to relatively modest contracts, and Draymond Green's decision to opt out of his player option for 2026-27 provides them additional flexibility. Whether or not that's ultimately used on James, it's a major gift for the Warriors to have.
Now, though, they've also brought back De'Anthony Melton on a two-year, $11 million deal, as initially reported by Shams Charania. Thankfully, it doesn't change the immediate landscape of the James sweepstakes— as cap expert Yossi Gozlan explained in his response to Charania's post.
De'Anthony Melton likely goes into the Warriors bi-annual exception.
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) July 1, 2026
He can decline the player option next year and re-sign at fair value by accumulating Early Bird rights.
They still preserve their mid-level exception for a potential LeBron James signing. https://t.co/TC5P87AZJD
De'Anthony Melton's extension is a solid move for the Warriors— and it doesn't immediately impact the LeBron sweepstakes
Let's first acknowledge that bringing Melton back was a viable move. Although he struggled at times as he rehabbed his injury last season, he also showed flashes of primary ball-handling abilities and a strong partnership with Stephen Curry in the Warriors' backcourt. Across 49 games, he averaged 12.3 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 2.6 assists while shooting 40.7% from the field.
Golden State needs backcourt depth, and Melton can help address that.
But everything right now in the Warriors' sphere centers around James, at least from a fan perspective. As Gozlan explains, Melton will likely fall under Golden State's bi-annual exception, which allows them to go over the cap, as the name suggests, once every two years in order to sign a player to the roster. It hard caps a team at the first apron, but it can be combined with the mid-level exception to help balance a team's books.
The Warriors would still have to deal a player, likely Moses Moody, to clear out enough space to offer James the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, which is slated to sit just north of $15 million in 2026-27.
But Melton's signing manages to both address a need and avoid factoring into any decision on James.
Add us as a preferred source on Google