A SILLY REPORT
Patrick Creighton: Lebron James to the Warriors? #FakeNews
Feb 2, 2018, 7:24 am
Patrick Creighton hosts “Nate & Creight” M-F 1-3p on SportsMap 94.1FM. Follow him on twitter at @pcreighton1
Thursday, ESPN published a report that “sources” told them that if the Golden State Warriors could create max cap space this offseason, he would take a meeting with them about signing there.
Also, if I wake up tomorrow at 6-4, totally ripped, with 9 figures in my bank account, I can take a meeting to date Scarlet Johansson. They have about the same percentage chance.
For the 2018-19 season, the Warriors are already projected at more than $27M over the cap. They have only 7 players under contract and Kevin Durant has a player option for $26.25M.
In order to sign LeBron to a max contract in the offseason, they would have to unload – are you ready - $62,611,051 from their payroll to accommodate a max $35.3M salary for James (who would be opting out of $35.6M in Cleveland to escape Dan Gilbert). That means trading at least 2 of either Klay Thompson ($19M in 2018-19), Draymond Green ($17.5M) and Andre Iguodala ($16M). Keep in mind that A) Thompson & Green are 27 and Iggy is 34 and B) they have to take nothing back.
How do you think Joe Lacob would feel about handing away Klay & Draymond for a pair of second round picks? As great as LeBron is, he isn’t worth both of those guys for their combined salaries, especially when he is seven years older than both of them.
Also, the Warriors are one more opt-in from Kevin Durant to holding his full Bird rights, meaning if KD can swallow “only” making $26.25M next season, he can sign a full five-year $200M+ deal the following year. Durant is also only 29. By opting out, KD delays the process to get a megadeal.
To make things more interesting, LeBron is on record saying he wants to “break the mold” when he becomes a free agent after this season. Thanks to the work he and NBPA President Chris Paul put in this past year to change the “Over-36” rule to the “Over-38” rule, LeBron can sign one more 5 year megadeal, but it has to be this offseason.
Realistically, there’s no way the Warriors could make enough cap space to afford James, which makes the entire “report” a huge farce, and pure clickbait.
While the headline may be sexy, don’t believe the hype.
(Salary information obtained from spotrac.com)
The Houston Texans are entering the 2025 NFL Draft with a roster on the rise and a franchise quarterback in C.J. Stroud—but what happens next is anything but certain.
Draft experts are calling this year’s class one of the most difficult to project, especially in the back half of the first round, where opinions on prospects vary widely. For the Texans, who hold the No. 25 overall pick, this presents both opportunity and risk. With no glaring positional holes but several areas in need of long-term upgrades, Houston’s approach will provide insight into how the front office views its roster—and, more specifically, how it plans to protect its most valuable asset: Stroud.
Stroud was sacked 52 times last season, second only to Chicago's Caleb Williams. That reality underscores the Texans’ top priority heading into the draft: fortifying the offensive line. How they do that could reveal what they truly think of tackle Blake Fisher and whether Tytus Howard’s future lies at guard or tackle.
A number of linemen are on the Texans’ radar for their first-round pick, including Alabama interior mauler Tyler Booker, versatile North Dakota State tackle Gray Zabel, and Oregon’s athletic pass protector Josh Conerly. Texas standout Kelvin Banks and Ohio State’s Donovan Jackson also bring physicality and pedigree, while Josh Simmons of Ohio State is a long-term project coming off a torn patellar tendon.
Still, wide receiver is the other major position of interest. If Houston opts to go wideout in the first round, names like Arizona’s Tet McMillan, Ohio State’s Emeka Egbuka, Missouri’s Luther Burden, and Texas' Matthew Golden offer a blend of polish, upside, and explosiveness.
A best-case scenario? The Texans land an offensive lineman in the first round and then leverage their extra third-round pick to trade up for a sliding receiver like Burden early in the second. That would give Houston immediate trench help and another weapon for Stroud without having to choose between the two priorities.
No matter what direction the Texans go, this year’s draft is set to be the most unpredictable of the Stroud era. And that might be just how Nick Caserio and DeMeco Ryans like it.
We have so much more to cover. Don't miss the video below as the crew from Texans on Tap discusses all the topics above and much more!
And be sure to watch our live reaction to the Texans' first round pick this Thursday night on our SportsMap Texans YouTube channel!
*ChatGPT assisted.
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