How Warriors Could Afford Getting Giannis and LeBron This Offseason

The Golden State Warriors have long been rumored to be interested in Giannis Antetokounmpo, and as the Bucks continue to struggle this season, it's becoming more likely that he will be dealt this offseason.

So it came as no surprise that The Stein Line's Jake Fischer reported that the Warriors would pursue him, but the second part of the following passage was surprising.

"Sources say that the Warriors naturally do plan to feature prominently in the trade mix for Milwaukee's Antetokounmpo if he truly becomes available via trade this offseason while also exploring the prospect of teaming James with Stephen Curry at last once LeBron becomes an unrestricted free agent on June 30."

It should be noted that it's extremely unlikely that the Warriors trade for Giannis and acquire LeBron. That's because it's unlikely that either acquisition happens, let alone both.

And could they even afford both? Well, that is the purpose of this column.

If the Warriors were to pull this off, they'd need LeBron to make a big financial sacrifice.

Scenario 1: Warriors Sign LeBron with Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception

If the Warriors a) traded Jimmy Butler (and a boatload of picks) for Giannis and b) released Jonathan Kuminga with their team option to clear his $24.3 million salary from the books, this is what their cap sheet would look like next offseason:

Curry: $62.6 million
Giannis: $58.5 million
Green: $27.7 million
Moody: $12.5 million
Hield: $9.7 million (only $3 million guaranteed)
Podz: $5.7 million
Richard: $2.2 million
Santos: RFA
Post: RFA

The Warriors would be well above the projected salary cap of $166 million, making it impossible to sign LeBron with cap space. But they would be well below the projected first apron of $210.7 million.

They could give LeBron the non-taxpayer mid-level exception of one year and $15.4 million. That might feel like a slap-in-the-face offer to LeBron fans, but there’s no way for the Warriors to get under the cap enough to give LeBron a fair contract.

Note that De’Anthony Melton is projected to be a free agent, and if the Warriors don’t use their non-taxpayer midlevel on LeBron, they would likely offer it to Melton. Whether he takes the $15.4 million offer or gets a bigger one in free agency is up for debate.

Scenario 2: Warriors, Lakers Work Out Sign-and-Trade

There’s a non-zero chance that James would want to play for the Warriors but wouldn’t entertain playing for them for just $15.4 million. So that brings us to this much more complicated sign-and-trade scenario.

In this case, the Warriors would likely exercise the team option in Kuminga’s contract to have something the Lakers would want in return.

This is what a trade could look like:

Warriors get: LeBron James
Lakers get: Jonathan Kuminga, Buddy Hield, one first-round pick (whichever one the Warriors still have after trading for Giannis)

Acquiring LeBron would hard-cap the Warriors at the projected first apron of $210.7 million, so they couldn’t give him whatever he wanted.

Their new cap sheet would look like this:

Curry: $62.6 million
Giannis: $58.5 million
LeBron: $31.9 million
Green: 27.7 million
Moody: $12.5 million
Podz: $5.7 million
Richard: $2.2 million
Incomplete roster spot cap holds: $9.6 million

Without dumping other contracts, the maximum they could offer LeBron is about $31.9 million.

However, if Draymond Green declined his player option and re-signed on a much less expensive one-year deal, that would allow the Warriors to pay James more. Green might agree to this to bring his friend to the Bay in what might be the final season of his career.

For example, the new cap sheet could look like this:

Curry: $62.6 million
Giannis: $58.5 million
LeBron: $40 million
Green: $19.6 million
Moody: $12.5 million
Podz: $5.7 million
Richard: $2.2 million
Incomplete roster spot cap holds: $9.6 million

In either scenario, the Warriors would have to fill out the rest of their roster with rookie minimum contracts, so they couldn’t even afford ring-chasers. With that in mind, they’d likely want to give LeBron a couple million bucks less so they can sign a veteran or two.

In conclusion, the Warriors would be able to offer LeBron something between $30 million and $40 million via sign-and-trade.

I have no idea if he’d take it, but that’s the best the Warriors can realistically do.