The Golden State Warriors are waiting on LeBron James' decision before they use any part of their mid-level exception. But if James signs elsewhere, Rui Hachimura could be a solid consolation prize. The Stein Line's Marc Stein and Jake Fischer reported that Hachimura's representation "has been in contact with" with the Warriors and Timberwolves. Spotrac lists James as a power forward, but I'm considering him more of 3 who can play the 4. Not including James, the top free-agent power forwards are Hachimura and Draymond Green. Signing Hachimura Would Require MLEOutside of James, Jalen Duren (restricted), James Harden and Peyton Watson, one could argue that Hachimura is the best remaining free agent regardless of position. He's shot over 40 percent from downtown in three straight seasons, and in that span his overall field-goal percentage has been 52.1. There's no doubt that he's worth at least some of a team's non-taxpayer mid-level exception, but with teams' cap space drying up, he might have to settle for a taxpayer mid-level exception contract of $6.1 million. That's the maximum that the Timberwolves can offer him. The Warriors might choose not to beat that offer. If they miss on James, they might instead offer Green a starting salary that doesn't allow them to pay Hachimura that much, and in that case he would likely choose to join the Timberwolves. Hachimura Might Not Be a Good Fit with the WarriorsIf the Warriors re-sign Green, they will have three players who are best suited to play power forward in Green, Yaxel Lendeborg and Gui Santos. Due to injuries, both Santos and Lendeborg will play some small forward this season, but over the long term, they should settle in as power forwards. If the Warriors sign Hachmiura, they will have a glut of power forwards. That's why my guess is the Warriors are not as interested in Hachimura as he is in them. If they miss on James, they will likely sign Green and fill out the rest of their roster with veteran minimum contracts. Hachimura is likely looking for the biggest contract offer from a team that has contention chances. Whether it's the Wolves or someone else, my guess is he will sign for at least the taxpayer mid-level exception with a team that has more of a need at power forward than the Warriors do. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow