One team believes it's the frontrunner for LeBron if he leaves Lakers

For the last several months, it has been believed that if LeBron James leaves the Los Angeles Lakers and decides to play a 24th NBA season this fall, he will, in all likelihood, return to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a third stint with them. But in recent weeks, the Golden State Warriors have emerged as a real option.

>James is good friends with Warriors living legend Stephen Curry and Warriors forward Draymond Green, and he won an Olympic gold medal with Curry for Team USA in 2024. According to a report from a few weeks ago, Curry was planning to meet with James to discuss the possibility of teaming up on the same NBA team.

>Insider Brett Siegel wrote in a ClutchPoints piece that the Warriors believe they're the frontrunners to land James if the future Hall of Famer decides to leave L.A. in free agency this summer.

"In terms of having access to their full mid-level exception, the Warriors firmly believe that they are the frontrunners to land LeBron James if he left the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency," Siegel wrote. "Once again, Golden State is pursuing LeBron, and this will be their best chance yet… assuming James would even consider taking a massive pay cut to join them.

>"That is a big ask to go from making $50 million to $15 million or $16 million for the year, but this is LeBron we are talking about. He wants to win at the end of his career, and if there is any player who could afford to take this massive reduction in salary and still make up for it in his endorsements and business ventures, it's LeBron."

It is questionable whether Golden State can offer James his best shot at winning his fifth championship. Curry is 38 years of age, Green is 36 and star forward Jimmy Butler will turn 37 in September and is coming off a torn ACL. Overall, Golden State has one of the NBA's oldest rosters as of now, and that is a scenario that isn't conducive to winning championships.

>Teams can officially start talking to free agents this Tuesday, June 30. Based on comments James recently made during his "Mind the Game" podcast about the process he will undergo as far as deciding what he will do next, there may not be a quick resolution.

>This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: One team believes it's the frontrunner for LeBron if he leaves Lakers