CLEVELAND _ When LeBron James' playing career ends, he may turn his talents to NBA ownership.
But his experience playing on super teams in Miami and Cleveland and competing against dynasties in San Antonio and Golden State has not turned him off to the concept of stockpiling talent.
In fact, if he gets that chance, James said he will follow the same model as the Warriors, who added 2014 MVP Kevin Durant to a roster that already included All-Stars Stephen Curry, a two-time MVP, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
"I mean, listen, it happens. It's sports. You have an opportunity to sign one of the best players, and you can do it, go ahead and do it. Why not?" James said Thursday. "If I become an owner, I'm going to try to sign everybody."
The Warriors hold a 3-0 lead on the Cavaliers going into Friday's Game 4 of the NBA Finals at Quicken Loans Arena and are on the verge of winning their second championship in three years. A year ago, they set a league record with 73 regular-season victories, but lost to the Cavs in a seven-game Final. On Friday, the Warriors could become the first team to finish the postseason undefeated.
James doesn't agree that the Warriors' acquisition of Durant was unfair. He pointed out that Golden State built through the draft, used the salary cap exception known as "Bird rights" to retain players who have spent continuous time on the team, then signed the league's most coveted free agent last summer.
"It's part of the rules," James said Thursday at the Q. "The best thing with Golden State's situation ... three of their best players were already drafted, so they were able to hold on to them because they own the Bird rights. So they're able to keep Steph, Klay and Draymond and able to go out and sign someone else by getting rid of a couple pieces in Harrison Barnes and not re-signing (Leandro) Barbosa and (Andrew) Bogut and guys from last year's team."
James said that was not the situation in 2010 when he got to Miami, uniting with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to win two championships in four years.
"We had to clear a lot of space because they didn't have anybody as far as guys that they wanted to keep as far as Bird rights besides U.D. (Udonis Haslem) and D-Wade," he said of the Heat. "They had the opportunity to go get two of us, and they did that in me and Bosh, and then we were able to finagle a way to get Mike Miller because some of us took pay cuts, and got some other guys. We had Rio (Mario Chalmers) because he was drafted. But it was a different situation. Totally different."
While some have complained about a lack of competitiveness in the playoffs, James said he sees the Warriors' dominance as good for the NBA. ABC's ratings through three games have made this the most-watched Finals since 1998. Game 3 drew a total live audience of 20.5 million viewers, up 22 percent.
"Is it fair? I don't care. It's great for our league. Right now, look at our TV ratings, look at the money our league is pouring in," he said. "Guys are loving the game, our fans love the game. I mean, who am I to say if it's fair or not? No matter who I'm going against, if I'm going against four Hall of Famers _ like I said before the series started with Draymond, Klay, Steph, and K.D. _ or if I'm going against two or whatever the case may be, I'm always excited to play the game.
"Is it fair that the New York Yankees in the '90s was adding piece after piece after piece after piece? I mean, if you have the opportunity to do that ... is it fair that the Cowboys added Deion Sanders?"
Appearing in his seventh consecutive Finals and eighth overall and looking at slipping to 3-5 in his career, James was philosophical, not cynical. In Finals history, 12 previous teams have held a 3-0 lead and all have won the championship. Of those 12, eight recorded a sweep. There have been 126 best-of-seven playoff series in NBA history in which a team has fallen behind 3-0, and none of them has come back from that deficit.
"It's just part of my calling to just go against teams in the midst of a dynasty," James said. "This has been the best team in our league the last three years. They won a championship, and last year it was the greatest regular-season team we had played, probably one of the best postseason teams that everybody's ever seen as well, but we were just able to overcome that. And they're playing like one of the best teams once again."
James has faced the San Antonio Spurs three times in his career, beating them in 2013 and losing in 2007 with the Cavs (who were swept) and in 2014 with the Heat. The first incarnation of the Spurs included Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker, the 2013 and '14 Spurs added Kawhi Leonard to coach Gregg Popovich's team.
In 2012, James and the Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder, whose roster included Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. The 2011 Dallas Mavericks squad that beat the Heat didn't qualify as a super team, but it had Dirk Nowitzki as one of four players who averaged in double figures.
At age 32, James realizes that his playoff battles with the Warriors may go on for several more seasons.
"There have been times throughout my career where I just played teams that were just in the midst of something that can last for a long time," he said. "And obviously this team is built to be able to do that with the talent that they have.
"Obviously you never know what's going to happen, but as it stands right now, they look pretty good as far as the future."
