James says Warriors will be tough to beat in next few years

The alarm was sounded loud and clear by LeBron James not long after the NBA Finals ended, and every other player, coach and general manager around the league who did not end this season drenched in Champagne surely agreed with what he was saying:

There will be one question inevitably asked this offseason by most of the 29 other teams in the NBA whose fingers didn’t get to smudge the golden surface of the Larry O’Brien Trophy this year.

Basketball’s offseason is here, a draft and free agency loom, and for the second time in three years everyone is chasing the Warriors.

“They’re going to be here for a while,” James said after the Finals ended, his words coming as the Warriors’ celebration was still going in earnest.

Boston has the No. 1 pick in the draft to add to a team that went to the Eastern Conference finals this season.

“There’s going to be a lot of teams that are trying to figure out ways to put personnel together to try to match that if they’re able to actually face them in a playoff series, both Eastern Conference and Western Conference,” James said.

Because they’re built for ... from my eyes, they’re built to last a few years.

Many players have opt-in decisions coming before the July 1 shopping spree opens.

Some of those decisions could affect what happens on draft night, when Washington’s Markelle Fultz probably will go to the Celtics with the No. 1 overall pick.

The Warriors won’t be the same when Commissioner Adam Silver hands them their rings in October (when the league’s longer season designed to give more rest over the 82-game span begins).

The best example of how far the league has to go to catch the Warriors might be the Trail Blazers, a solid team with two great scorers in Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.