The thing is, James holds all the cards. He has one of those rare NBA no-trade clauses, along with a 15 percent trade kicker, so he’d get a huge amount of money if dealt. Maybe there’s a way to waive that if it means James gets another shot at a ring?

Golden State sits as the 11th seed in the gauntlet that is the Western Conference. While the Warriors are only four games back from the sixth seed, they will need a lot of luck on their side and completely do a 180 starting now.