The Golden State Warriors remain in the mix for LeBron James, though they believe they must secure Anthony Davis via a trade to land James. However, there might be another play the Dubs can make for a different elite big man who James might consider just as enticing.
Joe DeCamara of 94.1 WIP in Philadelphia appeared on the “Willard & Dibs” Show on 95.7 The Game in the Bay Area Wednesday, July 8 and pitched a blockbuster trade between the Warriors and 76ers swapping Jimmy Butler for Joel Embiid straight up.
It is a hypothetical move DeCamara contended “absolutely could be in play.”
“A deal that makes a ton of sense both ways is that the Sixers wanna get out from [under] Joel. Embiid — trade him to [Golden State] for Jimmy Butler,” DeCamara said.
DeCamara did not leave out the obvious hitch in that plan, which is Embiid’s health and his issues staying on the court — particularly during the playoffs — over the last several seasons.
“The rub is Joel has three years left on his deal, Jimmy Butler has one year left on his deal,” DeCamara continued. “So would the Warriors want an unbelievable, all-world talent in Joel Embiid to have that be one of two things: with LeBron, the ‘Let’s absolutely go for it,’ or the without LeBron ‘Hey, we still got a heck of shot because now we got Joel Embiid and Steph Curry, and let’s try it that way.’”
Anthony Davis Could Cost Warriors 3 First-Round Picks, Joel Embiid Most Certainly Will Not
GettyAnthony Davis of the Washington Wizards.
Butler’s salary in 2026-27 is just over 56.8 million, while Embiid will earn just shy of $58 million, so the money in such a deal would work smoothly under league rules.
The benefit of Golden State vying for Embiid over Davis is that both Shams Charania and Bobby Marks of ESPN have said within the last week that the Warriors will have to pay a premium in draft capital to pry Davis way from the Washington Wizards, potentially including all three of Golden State’s tradable first-round picks.
If anything, the Warriors should be able to negotiate a meaningful draft asset from Philadelphia by assuming the final three seasons of what is an otherwise unmovable contract for Embiid — even despite his MVP campaign in 2022-23.
Joel Embiid’s Injury History Renders Any Trade Massive Risk to Warriors
GettyJoel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers.
That leads into the obvious downside of Golden State acquiring Embiid, which is namely that he hasn’t reached 40 games played in any of the past three regular seasons (39, 19 and 38 appearances, respectively).
It doesn’t matter much that Embiid averages 27.6 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.6 blocks per contest across his NBA career considering he can’t stay on the floor and is only getting older and presumably more injury prone. He will play the upcoming campaign at the age of 32.
Somewhat ironically, the 76ers have emerged as strong contenders for James’ services, joining the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat as the frontrunners for the 42-year-old superstar, per a recent report from Charania.
The Warriors started the offseason as among the favorites to land James alongside the Cavs and Heat, though Philadelphia has since replaced them.
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