For most of his prime, Stephen Curry has preferred to let the front office handle the heavy lifting in recruiting. But with just two years left on his contract, his championship window is dwindling, and patience is no longer a luxury. Jimmy Butler’s addition moved the needle only so far. This offseason, the Golden State Warriors have been actively hunting for another star, and after their Giannis Antetokounmpo pursuit appears to have hit a wall, Curry is reportedly ready to take matters into his own hands to land LeBron James.

“League sources telling us at ClutchPoints that the Warriors are very much open to pursuing LeBron James and they plan to do so this offseason in free agency,” Brett Siegel said. “They struck out on the Gianns Steal. They know that is not going to happen for them. That ship has sailed. LeBron James, at the end of his career, he could still contribute a high level, we saw that in the playoffs. Pairing him with Stephen Curry is going to be something that the Warriors look to pursue over the next few weeks.

“It seemed very doubtful, it seemed low percentage, now it’s kind of questionable. Now there’s going to be some legs to this. That same source told us that Steph is planning on meeting and talking with LeBron about potentially joining the Warriors over the course of the next few weeks leading up to free agency.”

This is not the first time Golden State has swung for LeBron. In February 2024, owner Joe Lacob personally called Lakers owner Jeanie Buss to inquire about James’ availability at the trade deadline, with Draymond Green simultaneously texting Rich Paul to gauge his client’s interest. Paul shut it down immediately. James had no interest in a trade and wanted to remain a Laker. But two years on, and with LeBron now an unrestricted free agent for the first time since 2018, the conversation is a fundamentally different one.

The Warriors’ summer wishlist has been nothing short of ambitious. They targeted Giannis, Kawhi Leonard, and even Bron. For Leonard, Siegel stated that it was always an “outside chance of that being a real scenario for them.”

For Antetokounmpo, it isn’t just Siegel reporting the cold water – Jake Fischer also noted the Greek Freak “isn’t exactly enamored with moving to the Western Conference in general, let alone going and being second fiddle to Stephen Curry.” With those trails going cold, the apparent path to an MVP-caliber running mate now runs squarely through LeBron James. And per Brett Siegel, this desire runs deeper than a front-office whim – LeBron has been on Joe Lacob’s wish list since at least 2020.

The mechanics of how Golden State actually lands him, though, are complicated. The most straightforward path is the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, and per Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard, if the Warriors manage their roster and payroll carefully, they could offer LeBron the $15.1 million figure without needing to trade anything or unload major salaries, making it a direct add.

Still, at roughly a 70% pay cut from the $52.6 million James earned this season, it’s a significant ask.

The more ambitious route is a sign-and-trade, with Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, or Kristaps Porzingis as the headline piece. Butler carries a $56.8 million contract but is 36 and recovering from a torn right ACL. Green, meanwhile, shares both a close friendship with James and an agent in Rich Paul, making him an awkward trade chip.

More realistically, Green could opt out of his $27.7 million player option and accept a reduced salary to manufacture the cap flexibility Golden State needs. And there is genuine mutual interest to build on: James has previously expressed his desire to play alongside Curry, a sentiment that only deepened after their partnership under Steve Kerr at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

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There’s also a concrete vision of what the roster could look like. Per SI’s reporting, if the Warriors re-sign Green and Porzingis and land James via the MLE, they project a starting five of Curry, Butler, James, Green, and Porzingis – four of the highest-IQ players in the sport sharing the floor once Butler returns from his ACL injury.

Whether Steve Kerr can make the offensive fit work is another question entirely. But the ceiling of that group is unmistakably real.

The problem is James’ salary floor. Per Yahoo Sports insider Jake Fischer, league chatter that LeBron might accept a veteran minimum, roughly $3.8 million for 2026-27 has been explicitly shot down.

“It does not sound like that is actually in the cards at all,” Fischer said, making clear he received pushback directly from James’ camp.

That matters because it narrows the financial gap considerably: Golden State’s MLE sits at $15.1 million, while most other competing suitors – Cleveland, Denver, and New York can only offer the veterans minimum outright. That, perversely, may actually strengthen the Warriors’ hand against the field.

“If it comes down to, would you rather pay Austin 40 million for the next five years or LeBron 40 million for one year, they’re going to prioritize the long-term contract here,” Jovan Buha said on Buha’s Block on May 30. “Austin is more of a priority for the Lakers than LeBron is. That’s just a fact. The second part of it is that Austin is going to have a market.”

That dynamic has a deeper root. This past season, LeBron quietly became the third option on his own team, deferring heavily to Luka Doncic and Reaves. He averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds, and 7.2 assists on 51.5% shooting – All-Star numbers by any standard, but his pick-and-roll usage dropped to roughly half of what it was two seasons ago.

He adapted admirably. But for a player entering the final act of the greatest career in NBA history, a franchise that is already looking past him toward a five-year Reaves commitment is a cold place to spend it.

Golden State is also not the only outside threat. Cleveland and New York have been identified as the two most credible alternative destinations. The Cavaliers carry real emotional weight, a homecoming narrative with Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, and a roster that just reached the Eastern Conference Finals, but their cap situation is severely constrained, leaving them unlikely to offer more than the veterans minimum.

The Knicks, meanwhile, are suddenly East favorites and carry James’ well-documented affection for Madison Square Garden, but may choose to stay their current course rather than disrupt a team built for a Finals run.

That calculus, Reaves commanding up to $40 million annually over five years, Luka Doncic’s long-term fit looming over every roster decision, and Cleveland and New York hamstrung by their own cap realities, is precisely what gives Curry an opening.

If the Lakers are looking past LeBron, if Cleveland can’t afford him, and if New York won’t move off their current path, Golden State’s $15.1 million MLE starts to look less like an insult and more like the best available offer on the table.

The long-rumored pairing may finally have a real runway, but only if LeBron decides that legacy, not leverage, is what this last chapter is about.