For the Golden State Warriors, the ultimate outcome of the LeBron James sweepstakes certainly stung.
In many ways, their offseason hinged upon his decision. Even if the team still, at best, had an outside shot at contention had he joined forces with Stephen Curry and Draymond Green, his arrival would've delivered a dose of hope and nostalgia that could've eased much of the pain Warriors fans have suffered over the past few months.
Now they'll need to scramble to sort out the rest of their roster spots— although Green's extension has already been ironed out.
The Warriors are certainly one of the losers of the James sweepstakes. But they might not be the team that was most directly burned by his decision. As Sam Quinn argues in his recent piece for CBS Sports, Golden State was at least able to retain their key free agents this offseason.
The Cleveland Cavaliers weren't so lucky.
"Golden State's overall position is no worse now than it was a month ago. That position just happened to already be quite poor. But Cleveland staked this offseason entirely on the James pursuit. The Cavaliers lost Dean Wade and Keon Ellis -- their two best on-ball defenders -- in order to preserve financial flexibility to chase LeBron. There are no worthwhile replacements out there." Sam Quinn, CBS Sports
The Warriors' ceiling is still limited, but they were at least able to keep most of their roster intact
To their credit, Golden State's front office was able to re-sign Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and De'Anthony Melton before the James sweepstakes found its conclusion. Of course, there's questions surrounding each of these players, especially when it comes to their availability. But the Warriors needed these pieces to return. There were no real replacements for them on the open market.
The Cavaliers, meanwhile, lost two important rotational contributors in Dean Wade and Keon Ellis. Wade was a major factor for them in their run to the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Although he averaged just 4.4 points, he shot 37.5% from beyond the arc and started a swathe of games for them in all three rounds.
Combined with Ellis' departure to the Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland lost two of their most important perimeter defenders this offseason.
In a way, comparing the Warriors and Cavaliers is like apples to oranges. Assuming Cleveland retains James Harden, they have four All Star-caliber pieces on their roster, and the urgency is absolutely on for them to win a championship. Golden State's source of urgency is obviously different as Stephen Curry enters the twilight of his career.
Losing James obviously hurt the Warriors. It was their best shot at landing another star without mortgaging the future to an untenable extent. But their participation in the sweepstakes didn't outright hurt their depth.
In an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference, Cleveland has sacrificed much of the viability of their bench. They did add Mario Hezonja in his much-anticipated return from European basketball, but even a quick look at their depth chart inspires a slight grimace. If they're forced to move on from Dennis Schröder this offseason, that picture only gets worse.
While James' decision stings for the Warriors, therefore, there's at least some solace to be had in the contracts they've been able to sign this offseason.
