The Los Angeles Lakers are Luka Doncic‘s team now, there’s no doubt about that. Yet, while their young franchise cornerstone has given them new life, the way that they’ve prioritized him over LeBron James appears to have rubbed the latter the wrong way. On top of that, as James creeps ever closer to retirement, many have considered it possible that he plays out the 2025-26 season with the team he started with: the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Unfortunately for James, if that was the case, the Cavs aren’t exactly jumping at a reunion. In fact, while there’s obviously interest in the 21-time All-Star, the logistics make it difficult to foresee him playing for anyone except the Lakers. Barring a buyout, that is. With that in mind, James’s decision to opt into his contract for the 2025-26 season is precisely why he’s in between a rock and a hard place.
Lakers’ LeBron James ‘Eyes’ Mavs In Quirky Offseason Saga
Though there’s an obvious connection between James and Cleveland, there’s at least one other franchise that really caught his attention: the Dallas Mavericks.
“While he opted in to the final year of his contract and does not appear to be an imminent trade candidate,” writes The Athletic’s John Hollinger, “that doesn’t necessarily mean returning to the Los Angeles Lakers on a one-year deal was at the top of his wish list. In particular, the whispers about him having eyes for Dallas — a place where he could have teamed up with former teammates Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving and young phenom Cooper Flagg — before opting into his deal were hard to ignore.”
James “wasn’t willing to leave $52 million on the table to take a nontaxpayer MLE or something similar from the Mavericks or another team,” Hollinger adds. “A buyout seems similarly unlikely…”
Hypothetical Trade Scenario
Last week, The Athletic’s Dan Woike and Joe Vardon reported that Mavs have interest in James, but not if it requires them “gutting their roster.” It’s unclear what or how many players they would trade for James if the opportunity presented itself. However, there are multiple frameworks that would work in a potential transaction.
One such option is a three-team deal that includes the Brooklyn Nets, who have $19.9 million in cap space.
If Dallas were to trade Daniel Gafford (or PJ Washington) to the Nets, they could send a combination of Klay Thompson, Dwight Powell, Brandon Williams and Gafford (or Washington) to the Lakers. The Mavericks would be trading three projected rotation players (Gafford, Washington, Thompson) for one in this scenario. However, it can be argued that James is as valuable as at least two of those players combined, if not all three.
Win-Now Mode?
Ultimately, a contract buyout agreement is the most feasible way for him to get out of Los Angeles. If so, he may choose the Cavs over the Mavs given his connection to not only the franchise but Ohio itself. Unless Dallas doesn’t care about adding the four-time NBA champion while they’re in win-now mode, that should be a motivating factor for them to get him themselves.
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