Draymond Green Talks LeBron James Recruitment Pitch to Warriors, Responds to Shams Report in Video

Longtime Golden State Warriors forward and current free agent Draymond Green confirmed Sunday that he made a pitch to fellow free agent LeBron James during a recent hangout.

Speaking on his Draymond Green Show podcast, Green admitted to trying to convince James that they should play together next season:

"I'd be remiss if I don't take the opportunity to throw my pitch in there, Green said. "I'd be crazy if we're together for X amount of days and at no point am I like 'Yo, we need to chop it up, what the hell is going on? What are we doing?' Of course I did that and of course the pitch was crazy. I think I'm pretty decent at it.

Does it change anything? Does it make anything happen? I don't know. I hope so. With the things I shared in it, it's definitely gonna make the brain work a little bit. I don't think there's a decision that's been made, but say if there was, it'll make you think twice about it. ... But we wasn't going to hang out for a recruitment pitch."

At the 1:15 mark of his podcast, Green also addressed a report by ESPN's Shams Charania on the Stephen A. Smith Show that James and Green would be "spending some time together this week," noting that it isn't uncommon for them to hang out.

"I don't have problems with Shams," Green said. "I think he's great at what he does. I think sometimes things step a little outside the scope of work, and reported whereabouts I think is a little outside the scope of work. I also think kind of a bit irrelevant.

"The reason being is, obviously Bron, that's my brother. We've built quite the relationship. So I think us hanging out, us kicking it together, us golfing together, whatever it is, I don't think it's really that newsworthy."

On June 29, Charania (h/t ESPN's Anthony Slater) reported that Green declined the player option in his contract for next season with an eye toward creating flexibility for the Warriors to pursue James in free agency and a trade for Washington Wizards big man Anthony Davis.

One day later, LeBron's agent, Rich Paul, told Charania that James informed the Los Angeles Lakers he intended to leave the organization in free agency and play elsewhere next season.

Golden State instantly stood out as a potential landing spot for James because of his relationship with Green and the allure of playing alongside a fellow future Hall of Famer and all-time great in Stephen Curry.

However, ESPN Andscape's Marc J. Spears later reported that the Wizards had no interest in trading Davis, throwing a wrench into the Warriors' overall plans.

James and Davis are both Klutch Sports Group clients, and they played together with the Lakers for several seasons, winning a championship in 2020.

During his appearance on the Stephen A. Smith Show, Charania expressed his belief that the Warriors are not among LeBron's top choices unless they are able to swing a trade for AD.

Even so, Green admitted that he tried to convince James to join forces, and if that happens, every indication is that it would be in Golden State since Green has never played for another team.

The 41-year-old James essentially has his pick of the litter, though, and if his main goal is to win a championship in what could be his final NBA season, it is fair to question if the Warriors offer him the best opportunity to do so after they missed the playoffs with a 37-45 record last season.