What ESPN's report about LeBron James and the Warriors really means

LeBron James could meet with the Golden State Warriors in free agency this coming free agency, ESPN’s Chris Haynes reported late Wednesday in an ostensible bombshell report. LeBron leaving Cleveland!? LeBron joining his biggest rival!?!?! Holy s***, Golden State will never lose another game.

But let’s slow down. The headlines are accurate, but there’s only so much context that 70 characters can provide. Let’s go through this step by step before overreacting in any manner.

What did Haynes actually report?

There are three things that are actually reported from this article.

LeBron “could” meet with the Warriors if they have a max salary spot

If the Golden State Warriors can create a max salary slot this offseason, the defending NBA champions could position themselves to secure a meeting with LeBron James, league sources told ESPN.

The Warriors aren’t planning on creating a max salary spot for LeBron “at this time”

There is no indication that Golden State is evaluating such options to acquire the Cavaliers star at this time.

LeBron’s decision to meet with the Warriors would be based on his “respect” for them

Out of respect for the Warriors’ winning culture, James would listen if Golden State explored ways to clear the necessary cap space, sources said.

The rest of the story provides facts and previously reported information, but nothing new.

Is this a trustworthy report?

Yes, absolutely. Haynes is a reliable ESPN reporter who has broken bigger and bigger stories over the past years, including the infamous Gordon Hayward free agency decision that Hayward’s camp originally denied, only to announce Boston was indeed the choice. Say whatever you want about ESPN, but their reporters are better connected to the NBA than anyone else.

What does this report mean?

That’s the thing — it doesn’t mean anything, really. This tweet basically sums up what the report says.

everyone is losing their minds over the thought of lebron potentially thinking about maybe meeting with the warriors
— Grant Goldberg (@GrantGoldberg) February 1, 2018

To put it another way: LeBron James might do something, depending on if another team does something, a thing that said team is currently not planning on doing, and even if they did it, James has only maybe committed to doing one thing, and it’s not the thing that would actually melt the internet. This story is about 1,234 steps away from the headline, “LeBron James signs with the Warriors.” That’s more steps than I walk some days.

This does shed light onto James’ mindset. James respects the Warriors — that’s true, though we knew that. And he would meet with them if they went out of their way to pursue him — that’s also true. I believe both of those things, just like I believe that Golden State has no plans to do that.

Maybe this story is an iceberg, and we’re all the dumb idiot on the Titanic who thought it was fine to continue at full speed. Maybe this is the first seed being planted for something that James is seriously considering for this summer. But we don’t know that, and it’s a huge leap to assume it.

Will Golden State pursue James?

Not under these parameters that we’ve been given, no. This report says that James would consider meeting with the Warriors if they’ve cleared maximum salary space, but that would require moving Klay Thompson or Draymond Green. Unless the Warriors were 100 percent certain that James would join them, why would even consider doing that? Why risk disrupting the equilibrium of the best team in the league? Why bother messing something up on a roster that might win three or four straight championships?

Would that even be the best long-term scenario for Golden State? James is the best player in the league, but he’s also 33 years old. We don’t expect him to fall off for several seasons, but what if he did? What if his 15 grueling seasons finally caught up to him? Any other team in the league would accept those risks for James, but the Warriors legitimately might not need to bother.

Would LeBron seriously consider Golden State?

It feels more and more likely that James might leave Cleveland, and no one would fault him for doing that. The Cavaliers are currently a White House state dinner being run by a MasterChef Junior runner-up. They have an overbearing owner who James dislikes and a brand-new front office that James is upset with, and it feels like Gordon Ramsey is screaming at every mistake they make when you consider the scrutiny on this team.

James plainly wants another championship, but he realizes his role in the sports world. Virtually no athlete is more well known, and James knows that his decisions must be made with an understanding of both the avid basketball fans and the casual ones.

While James went to Miami, it was a sure thing with two superfriends — I’m coining that word to mean superstars who are also friends — and the backlash from it has mostly blown over. That backlash will swell again if James leaves Cleveland again, but most people would understand how volatile that situation had become. But if he goes to Golden State ...

James will consider the Warriors, because no NBA player would be foolish enough to consider playing for them if there was mutual interest. But there’s a world between “considering them” and actively pursuing it, and another world between that and James actually signing there.

Will LeBron join the Warriors this summer?

No. I mean, maybe I’ve completely misread the situation and don’t know shtick. But no, he won’t.

Would it be funny if he did?

Come on. You know it would be.

James really might leave, though?

I’d recommend it. That Cleveland front office situation is horrendous, and I’m not entirely sure how things get better. But that doesn’t mean he’s joining Golden State.

Should this have been reported?

I don’t know. Again, nothing in this report is wrong — I’m convinced of that, and you should be, too. I have overwhelmingly positive thoughts about Haynes, who has proven himself as one of the league’s best reporters.

This is an interesting look into James’ thinking. But is it news to connect how someone thinks with something that likely won’t happen, while also report that thing currently isn’t happening? I’m not sure that passes our generally accepted rules for newsworthiness. But maybe there’s much going on more behind the scenes.