SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – MAY 02: LeBron James #6 of the Los Angeles Lakers stands next to Stephen Curry #30 of the Golden State Warriors during the second quarter in game one of the Western Conference Semifinal Playoffs at Chase Center on May 02, 2023 in San Francisco, California.(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Back when the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers were facing off in the NBA Finals on an annual basis (four years in a row, to be exact, from 2015 to 2018), it would have seemed unimaginable to think that Steph Curry and LeBron James would ever play on the same team.

The rivalry between the two stars was one that dominated the NBA landscape for a half-decade. While LeBron has been known to hop on the nearest bandwagon from time to time, joining up with Curry and the Warriors seemed like the ultimate no-no for Kings James…

Until now.

Five years later, with LeBron coming off a Western Conference Finals loss to the Denver Nuggets, there are plenty of questions floating around regarding exactly what the 38-year-old from Akron, Ohio will do next. And at least one of the answers appears to point to the Warriors.

Based on a recent report from The Ringer’s Kevin O’Conner, “interest between LeBron and the Warriors could be mutual.”

How soon until Draymond Green begins recruiting LeBron to the Warriors? Did it happen as soon as LeBron stepped off the podium Monday night? Will it happen before the Finals begin next Thursday? No one needs a source to tell you those conversations will happen if they haven’t already, given Draymond’s love for LeBron, the Klutch connection, and his history of recruiting.

Interest between LeBron and the Warriors could be mutual. LeBron is BFFs with Draymond and he’s already said that Steph Curry is the current player he’d most like to play with. Last year on The Shop, LeBron’s business partner, Maverick Carter, pushed him to share the team he’d most want to play for other than the Lakers and LeBron said it’d be the Warriors (or the Heat).

While the Warriors looked nowhere close to being a true NBA Championship contender this season, they are only one year removed from hoisting the Larry O’Brien Trophy. There have been talks about the front office possibly deciding to break up the core-three of Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. It’s certainly one possibility that the team faces as they head into an offseason full of uncertainty.

Then again, if the Warriors can find a way to land a superstar like LeBron, you’d have to think they’ll keep this core together to flank King James — as they make one final run at a championship before undergoing their inevitable rebuild.

The fact of the matter is there are plenty of options on the table for LeBron at the moment. He could stick around Los Angeles and continue to try and win with the Lakers. He could take a season off to recover, then return in 2024 in order to play a season with his son, Bronny James (as O’Conner also points out). Or maybe, just maybe, we do see LeBron forced his way out of LaLa Land and into a Warriors jersey for the final few seasons of his career.

It all adds up to another interesting NBA offseason that will be highlighted by a big-time decision from LeBron James.