Even though things have been quiet on the LeBron James front since the vague comments from his agent about evaluating what’s in the future Hall of Famer’s best interest, he could be keeping an eye on the Dallas Mavericks.
NBA insider Marc Stein wrote about his belief that James has a “curiosity” about playing for the Mavs if he were to leave the Los Angeles Lakers, but it would only be appealing to Dallas if it could sign him to a minimum deal following a buyout.
Stein also mentioned the New York Knicks and Golden State Warriors as potential options under the same scenario, while acknowledging there’s very little chance of the Lakers giving James a buyout.
When James opted in to his $52.6 million salary with the Lakers for next season on June 29, it came with a statement from Rich Paul to ESPN’s Shams Charania about keeping an eye on what the Lakers were doing to do now that they are setting up to build around Luka Dončić:
“LeBron wants to compete for a championship. He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.
“We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”
If James was intent on leaving the Lakers, he could have just turned down his option to become a free agent and forced a sign-and-trade deal. ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said on July 13 that James hasn’t asked for a trade, even though Paul noted four teams contacted him about potentially acquiring the four-time MVP.
Amid all of the speculation about James’ future, the Mavs stood out primarily because they have Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving on the roster. James and Davis have frequently talked about their close friendship off the court over the years.
James has called Irving, who was his teammate for three seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2014 to ’17, “the most gifted player the NBA has ever seen.”
When you factor in that the Mavericks are also adding 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg into the fold, it’s not hard to see why a lot of players wouldn’t be intrigued by the possibility of playing for them.
It doesn’t seem like the Mavs are pursuing James, with Stein noting they “have not tried to trade for him and do not want to try to trade for him if it means surrendering multiple rotation pillars for a player who turns 41 in December.”
The Knicks could do a one-for-one swap of James for Karl-Anthony Towns, but the Lakers would presumably balk given their reported desire to maintain cap space for the summer of 2027.
Even if the Knicks built a package with OG Anunoby, Mikal Bridges and Josh Hart, they would be left without many high-level role players around James, Towns and Jalen Brunson.
That trio would also have similar defensive deficiencies like the ones that plagued the Lakers in their playoff series loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves last season.
The Warriors would have to give up Jimmy Butler for James because they don’t have any second-tier contracts to build an offer around. Maybe that changes if they are able to work out a deal with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, but why would the Lakers want to do that deal?
On top of all this, James has a full no-trade clause that allows him to control where he might go if he were to ask the Lakers to move him. They have no incentive to buy him out because he was a second-team All-NBA selection last season, making it franchise malpractice to not get something for him.