New Warriors Rumors Reveal LeBron James Contract, Anthony Davis Trade Buzz Ahead of NBA Free Agency

Reunited, and it feels so good?

Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports reported on Sunday that the Golden State Warriors want to reunite LeBron James and Anthony Davis in the Bay Area.

Per that report, "A trade for Davis would have to include Jimmy Butler, who is on an expiring $57 million contract while recovering from a torn ACL. The Warriors would also have to include draft capital—they have two future firsts and four first-round swaps to work with in any deal. Sources say the Warriors hope adding Davis would help lure LeBron from Los Angeles to the Bay Area once free agency officially opens on June 30. The pitch would be simple: reunite with AD, team up with Steph Curry and Draymond Green, play for Steve Kerr, and chase one more championship with a roster of legends."

ESPN's Anthony Slater confirmed the Warriors' pursuit on Monday, reporting additional insight:

"Team sources have indicated for weeks a planned pursuit of James via free agency, but early intel told them that James was likely to return to the Los Angeles Lakers. Negotiations with Los Angeles in the lead-up to Tuesday's free agency, however, have gone nowhere, appearing to crack open the door.

The Warriors now have the flexibility to offer James the full $15.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception, regardless of any trade pursuit of Davis with the Washington Wizards. League sources believe any Davis hunt in the coming days is an extra motivational tactic to lure James. The two won a championship together in 2020 with the Lakers and have remained close friends."

As the Warriors seek to build out one last contending roster around Curry, this is probably about as good—and realistic—as they'll be able to do. But it requires a lot of moving pieces.

One, the Dubs need to convince the Wizards to trade Davis (or perhaps more accurately, might need Davis to push for a trade to the Bay Area). While Washington is clearly a team whose main priority is the future, given young players like AJ Dybantsa, Alex Sarr, Kyshawn George, Bilal Coulibaly and Tre Johnson, acquiring both Trae Young and Davis in the first place—and re-signing Young to a four-year, $212.8 million extension—was an indication that the Wizards want to be competitive both now and well into the future.

Perhaps enough future draft assets would incentivize them to give up on Davis, but it's hardly a guarantee.

The next complication would be convincing James to sign, likely for a discounted rate (think $15 million midlevel exception). Without knowing James' intentions for this offseason, it's hard to know if he'll be willing to take a discount, especially because other teams might offer pathways for sign-and-trade deals that would offer him a market-value contract for next season.

If you're James, does this team-up offer you a better shot at a title than simply returning to the Lakers? If everybody stays healthy, it certainly would, and James may no longer want to play for an organization in Los Angeles that pretty clear orbits entirely around Luka Dončić at this point. But the Lakers may also have their own plans to improve the roster while trying to retain James, not to mention former homes like Miami or Cleveland that could come calling.

But if the Warriors could pull it off—which, again, may be incredibly difficult to do—it certainly would be fun. Basketball's version of The Expendables, if you will. One way or another, expect them to try something drastic to build one last winner around Curry.