Warriors' Challenger for LeBron Has Pathway to Sneaky-Good Contract Offer

The LeBron James sweepstakes have been a roller coaster that has seen the Golden State Warriors deemed favorites at times and on the outside looking in at other times.

Aside from proximity to his Los Angeles home, the Warriors' best advantage is that they still have the ability to offer the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, whereas other suitors like the 76ers, Nuggets, Spurs and Celtics were believed to have best offers ranging from the $3.9 million veteran minimum to the $5.5 million bi-annual exception.

It turns out the 76ers have a path to a sneaky-good offer.

Cap analyst Yossi Gozlan wrote that the 76ers could offer James a $6.7 million salary if they do the following things:

- Sign-and-trade for Dean Wade instead of using the non-taxpayer mid-level exception on him
- Replace Dalen Terry and Jabari Walker (both on nonguaranteed contracts) with slightly cheaper veteran minimum contracts

A $6.7 million offer is still far less than the Warriors' $15 million, but it's higher than what many contenders can offer him. For example, if the Cavaliers re-sign James Harden to a contract in the $35 million range, they won't be able to offer James more than the veteran minimum without salary-dumping someone on their roster.

76ers Have a Real Shot at James

On his podcast with Max Kellerman, Rich Paul revealed a whiteboard of 10 teams going after James.

Five teams were in the inner circle: the 76ers, Timberwolves, Nuggets, Heat and Cavs.

Among those five, the 76ers' $6.7 million offer has the potential to be the biggest.

Beyond that, Philly's top four of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and VJ Edgecombe is extremely talented.

Another thing that could appeal to James is that the 76ers have not won a championship since 1983 and haven't had major playoff success in recent years. The narrative of him putting this team over the top must appeal to him.

As noted before, the Warriors can offer more money than the 76ers. But they don't have as much talent or as much of a potential narrative appeal for James.

Outside of playing with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, the Warriors don't offer a roster that would appeal to James. If Jimmy Butler were healthy, he would be included as someone James would likely want to play with, but he's out for a good chunk of the 2026-27 season with a torn ACL.

As for the narrative angle, no one knows exactly how James would feel about joining the Warriors, but a segment of NBA fans would be disappointed that he's joining the team that was his biggest rival. On top of that, the Warriors have won four titles with Curry and Green, so it wouldn't be as storybook for James winning one in the Bay as it would be in Philadelphia.

Don't be surprised if former Warriors GM Bob Myers helps the Sixers land James.

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