The past couple of weeks have been filled with tons of speculation about the future of LeBron James with the Los Angeles Lakers. Ever since the statement made by agent Rich Paul following James picking up his player option for the 2025-26 season, many have wondered whether a trade could be on the table. Some logical teams that could make sense included the Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks.
The latter of those teams has been a popular choice as it would allow for LeBron to reunite with two of his favorite teammates ever in Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. And of course, the Lakers do have a bit of history in major blockbuster deals with the Mavericks as well.
And while a James trade in general remains unlikely, one to the Mavericks is even less likely as Dan Woike and Joe Vardon of The Athletic are reporting that they have no interest in dealing for the Lakers superstar due to the number of pieces they would have to trade in order to match salaries:
One team linked to James — the Dallas Mavericks — does not have interest in gutting its roster to match James’ salary in a trade, a team source told The Athletic.
LeBron is set to make $52.6 million this season after picking up that player option and since Davis and Irving wouldn’t be in such a deal, the Mavericks would have to send at least four players to the Lakers to make the money work. A combination of Klay Thompson, Daniel Gafford and PJ Washington would still be around $7 million short, which would then force the inclusion of former Lakers guard Max Christie, or a pairing of players such as Dwight Powell and Olivier Maxence-Prosper.
Talking about the Lakers potentially trading James may be a fun exercise in theory, but the realities of making one work are far more difficult with his age, salary and no-trade clause allowing him to basically choose where he wants to go if it were to get to that point. But with LeBron still on an expiring contract with no options for the first time in his career, these rumors will likely continue on.
LeBron James expected to be with Lakers at start of training camp
With all that said, and despite the ongoing rumors, the expectation remains for LeBron James to be with the Lakers when training camp rolls around. It would be his eighth season with the franchise, his longest consecutive stint with any team in his storied career.
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