Takeaways from Warriors' Loss to Lakers: LeBron Makes Final Pitch to Dubs FO

Playing without eight players including Stephen Curry, the Golden State Warriors were blown out by the Los Angeles Lakers 119-103 on Thursday at Chase Center.

LeBron James had a dominant performance with 26 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

Brandin Podziemski and Nate Williams paced the Warriors with 17 points apiece.

Here are two takeaways from Thursday's game.

Warriors Front Office Should Heavily Pursue LeBron This Offseason

To no one's surprise, James controlled Thursday's game from start to finish. He was 11-of-17 from the floor, but it never felt like he was hijacking the offense with isolations. He showed off his superpower of scoring in the flow of the offense without forcing much.

James would fit well just about anywhere, but his high-IQ offense would fit especially well in Steve Kerr's offense.

Of course, Kerr is not under contract for next season. But assuming he's back with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, you'd have to believe James would have some interest in joining the Warriors.

And you'd absolutely have to believe the Warriors will have lots of interest in bringing James on.

The problem for Golden State is it doesn't have cap space to sign him, and it probably doesn't have players the Lakers would be interested in for a sign-and-trade.

So the only realistic way for James to join the Warriors is for the four-time MVP to sign for the non-taxpayer mid-level exception worth about $15 million.

That might seem like a nonstarter, but James might have to settle for a contract like that from other potential suitors, such as the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Warriors don't have the intriguing young players that could facilitate a star trade, and though they have all of their future first-round picks, they've been hesitant to trade them away.

That leaves them with not many options to improve this offseason. Landing James might be the best-case scenario.

Bassey vs. Williams for Final Play-In Roster Spot Feels Like a Tossup

There's no question that the Warriors are more in need of a wing than a center for the play-in tournament, which is why I've assumed Williams would get the Dubs' final roster spot when they play in their first play-in game on Wednesday.

But Charles Bassey is making things very interesting.

He had another double-double Thursday, finishing with 12 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks.

Assuming Al Horford and Kristaps Porzingis are healthy for the play-in tournament, Bassey would not play much. But it's possible the Warriors could go with a two-big lineup with Bassey at the 5 and Porzingis, Horford or Draymond Green at the 4. If so, Bassey could at least see a few minutes.

And the Warriors also have to be considering the possibility that Porzingis will miss time if they get to a first-round playoff series against the Thunder. If that happens, Bassey would likely be more valuable to the Warriors than Williams would be.

Note that two-way contract players are ineligible for the play-in tournament and playoffs. If the Warriors choose to convert Williams' contract, they'll have to let Bassey walk.