{"id":3670,"date":"2026-07-03T17:41:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T17:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3670"},"modified":"2026-07-03T17:41:01","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T17:41:01","slug":"lebron-james-agent-explains-why-warriors-are-appealing-free-agency-destination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3670","title":{"rendered":"LeBron James’ agent explains why Warriors are appealing free agency destination"},"content":{"rendered":"
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SAN FRANCISCO \u2013 LeBron James\u2019 agent Rich Paul gave his perspective on his client possibly joining the Warriors.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Former USMNT coach: \u2018In my opinion, it\u2019s been the best World Cup in history\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

On the latest episode of his video podcast \u201cGame Over,\u201d the Klutch Sports CEO wrote on a whiteboard the 10 teams that have a realistic shot to sign James as an unrestricted free agent.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The primary reason for Golden State\u2019s allure to the former Laker could be distilled into two names.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSteph and Dray,\u201d Paul said. \u201cYou get four-time champions like you are, you get some of the highest IQ basketball and you get a guy in (team owner) Joe Lacob who wants to win.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Paul was referring to Steph Curry and Draymond Green, the latter also a Klutch client.<\/span><\/p>\n

They were leaders of the 2010s Warriors dynasty that defeated James in three of four consecutive NBA Finals from 2015-18.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Word Game: July 3, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The Knicks, Nuggets, Spurs, Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Heat, 76ers, Celtics and Mavericks also were on Paul\u2019s white board.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Warriors could have the full $15.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception available to sign James, who is expected to take a massive pay cut from his $52 million salary regardless of where he goes.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

After fielding a roster that struggled with injuries and went 37-45 before bowing out in the play-in tournament, the Warriors have committed to bringing back almost the exact same team as last season.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Kristaps Porzingis, De\u2019Anthony Melton and Al Horford are all back on two-year deals, and Green is expected to re-sign on a team-friendly contract once James makes a decision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rookie Yaxel Lendeborg is the Warriors\u2019 lone big addition thus far, though the team also lost backup point guard Pat Spencer to the Suns on Thursday.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read more Besieged Bay Area investment network seeks bankruptcy shield<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rich Paul grouped the Warriors with nine other teams when discussing possible landing spots for LeBron James<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3669,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3670","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nLeBron James’ agent explains why Warriors are appealing free agency destination - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3670\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"LeBron James’ agent explains why Warriors are appealing free agency destination - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rich Paul grouped the Warriors with nine other teams when discussing possible landing spots for LeBron James\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=3670\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-03T17:41:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3670#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3670\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"LeBron James’ agent explains why Warriors are appealing free agency destination\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-03T17:41:01+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3670\"},\"wordCount\":318,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3670#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/9b55d66b10a251abe6d332fe045e4881.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3670#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3670\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=3670\",\"name\":\"LeBron James’ agent explains why Warriors are appealing free agency destination - 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