The Golden State Warriors will be rewarded for LeBron James' South Beach state of mind.According to a source close to the Warriors, a sign-and-trade sending David Lee from New York to Golden State in exchange for Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike, Ronny Turiaf and a second-round pick was very likely to go through before James announced his decision to head for Miami on national television Thursday night.
So long as James didn't choose the Knicks.
Since that was the case, Lee's agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed to FanHouse minutes afterward that the forward who averaged 20.2 points and 11.7 rebounds last season will sign a six-year, $80 million deal to join the Warriors. Randolph was the main incentive for the Knicks, who see star potential in the 6-foot-11 big man who is entering his third season.
New Jersey was believed to be the Warriors' most threatening competition for Lee, but the initial source had insisted the Nets wouldn't continue in their pursuit of Lee. Phoenix had also shown interest in landing Lee via sign-and-trade. Matt Steinmetz of Comcast SportsNet and Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times first reported the trade talks, with Steinmetz reporting before James' decision that the Warriors and Knicks had agreed to the deal. Yet Bartelstein told FanHouse on Thursday afternoon, "There is no deal at this point. Nothing (is) agreed to."
This article was updated to reflect the completed agreement.
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