Lebron Snubs Steph Curry, Warriors, Decides To Join 76ers In Nba Free Agency

LeBron snubs Steph Curry, Warriors, decides to join 76ers in NBA free agency originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

LeBron James won’t be teaming up with Steph Curry and Draymond Green this season.

The 41-year-old is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million contract with a player option, his agent, Rich Paul, told ESPN on Friday.

James will link up with Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown and V.J. Edgecombe.

As NBA free agency opened on June 30, the Warriors believed they had a legitimate shot to lure James to the Bay Area. Green declined his $27.7 million player option for the 2026-27 NBA season to give general manager Mike Dunleavy as much financial flexibility as possible.

Golden State’s dream scenario reportedly was to acquire All-Star center Anthony Davis from the Washington Wizards — which would have required trading Jimmy Butler — and then sign James, creating a Big Four with Curry and Green.

But the Wizards indicated that they had no desire to move Davis.

So, in the end, James settled on a more attractive option.

Now, Dunleavy and Co. must pivot to see if there are any additions they can make to give Curry, Green and a rehabbing Butler a better chance of competing for an NBA title.

James had been Warriors CEO Joe Lacob’s white whale for a few years. He tried to acquire the 22-time NBA All-Star as far back as the Feb. 2024 trade deadline, but agent Rich Paul reportedly opposed such a move at the time.

And the Warriors pushed again for a James trade last summer as they tried to work out a contract with then-restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.

This time around, the Warriors didn’t have to go through another team to try to get James. They just had to convince him and Paul that the Bay Area was the best place for him to spend his 24th NBA season.

Paul even acknowledged that the Warriors were among the 10 teams best suited for James’ services, including “Steph + Dray” on a whiteboard listing the franchises under consideration.

But as James’ pending decision dragged into late July, it seemed less likely that he would pick the Warriors.

And now the Warriors’ dream of pairing James with Curry and Green is over.

It’s time to move on.

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