In light of recent rumors of LeBron James being willing to consider a max offer from the Golden State Warriors in the offseason, Tim Kawakami of The Athletic shined light on the organization having “internal discussions” to net his services after a Game 7 loss to his Cleveland Cavaliers.

The Warriors lost devastatingly after holding a 3-1 lead in the NBA Finals and securing an NBA record 73-9 season prior to that. Ownership knew changes had to come in order to keep this great run going and in order to do so, they looked at adding another star.

Kawakami explained the acquisition of Kevin Durant was higher up their priority list and a much more likely bet to make, given James had just come off winning a championship and fulfilling his promise to the city of Cleveland.

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A deal for James is very unlikely in so many ways, and while it's true that he would listen to a pitch out of respect for the organization — it's that much more unlikely that the team would shred what they have worked so hard to build just based on the fantasy to put him in the roster.

Fundamentally, James doesn't fit what the Warriors have built this exoskeleton around — he's another ball-handler that is used to dominating the ball at all times, he's not a jump-shooter, and his defense is starting to decline at 33 years old.

Listening and being willing to meet with teams is part of due diligence by any NBA player, as is for any front office to pitch their organization to the most-coveted free agents, including James. To hear that both sides would consider meeting and talking is just further proof of the mutual respect between rivals and the ultimate show of admiration for James' innate abilities.