Assessing the LeBron James situation in Los Angeles

LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul put out a statement when James opted into his $52 million player option saying that James wanted to play for a championship contender.  The statement said that they knew the Lakers were building around Luka Doncic long term and that maybe if the Lakers were not all in for the 2025-26 season, they could trade LeBron.  There have since been reports that James is unlikely to be dealt before the season, which makes sense considering his contract is hard to trade.  However, I still wanted to talk about what LeBron’s market could look like if Los Angeles did deal him, why a buyout has never been an option and what the Lakers are with James next season.

There are only so many teams who could put together a package that the Lakers accepted for James and that James would accept a trade to with his no trade clause.  One of those was the New York Knicks but I don’t think they were ever a real option for James.  There are 2 packages that the Knicks could offer the Lakers for LeBron.  One is Karl-Anthony Towns in a 1 for 1 swap and the other is OG Anunoby and Mitchell Robinson.  Neither of those seem like deals that New York is looking to explore right now after going to the Eastern Conference Finals this past season.  That leaves 3 teams as real options to trade for LeBron, the Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks.

Let’s start with Golden State, a LeBron to the Warriors trade is pretty simple.  LeBron and Bronny James to the Warriors for Jimmy Butler and a future first round pick with a very light protection.  Let’s start with this, James would be an upgrade to Butler for Golden State.  He is a better player than Butler is right now, hence why the Dubs would need to toss a first round pick into the trade.  Butler next to Luka Doncic would be a fun fit for the Lakers and if James really signaled he wanted out, this could possibly be the best deal that they would be offered.

The Heat are another team that makes sense to make a LeBron trade.  Kel’el Ware would be a dream fit next to Doncic but after the Heat made Ware untouchable in a Kevin Durant trade, I don’t think he would be available in a James trade.  Norman Powell cannot be aggregated with other players in a trade until September 7th but there isn’t much of a rush to get a deal done.  A deal could be LeBron, Bronny and Shake Milton to the Heat for Powell, Terry Rozier, Haywood Highsmith, Jamie Jaquez Jr. and a lightly protected first rounder.  The Heat keep Ware while getting James and the Lakers get a scoring guard next to Doncic, a pick and keep their flexibility going into next summer.  I think this is the most likely scenario if James were to be dealt but there is one more team I want to talk about.

The Dallas Mavericks are the most interesting James team.  Reuniting LeBron with Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving while pairing Luka with a bunch of his old Dallas running mates.  A deal could be LeBron and Bronny to Dallas for Klay Thompson, Daniel Gafford, P.J. Washington and Caleb Martin.  This deal would not hard cap the Mavericks at the first apron while the Lakers are already hard capped at the first apron.  Of course, the Mavericks would bring back together the famous trio of LeBron, AD and D’Angelo Russell to pair with Cooper Flagg while they wait for Kyrie to get back.  Meanwhile, the Lakers get to try and run back the 2024 Mavericks formula with Austin Reaves in the Kyrie role.  I think that the Lakers likely pass on this deal because of the downgrade from Irving to Reaves but it would be a lot of fun to watch both teams.

There is a thought that James could be bought out by the Lakers.  I just don’t see it.  What does Los Angeles gain by buying out James?  He is on a 1-year deal so stretching the contract makes very little sense to go into your cap in 2026 and 2027.  We have seen Damian Lillard and Bradley Beak waived-and-stretched but those are different than this because Lillard is out for the season and the Bucks are desperate while the Suns want to get under the aprons.  Also, I would argue both of those teams making those moves are bad decisions.  If LeBron wanted to hand pick his next destination then he should have opted-out of his $52 million player option and taken a pay cut.  He re-signed with the Lakers, why would they want to pay one of the 15 best players in the league over $40 million this season (depending on what James gives back in a buyout) to have him not play for their team?  It is totally fair that James picked up his player option, considering he will make $52 million next season, but he still signed a contract to be a Laker next season.  Lillard and Beal are being bought-out because their teams don’t want them on their rosters anymore.  Unless something has changed, I am sure the Lakers still want LeBron on their team.  James made his bed so now he has to lie in it.

I have every expectation that LeBron will be a Laker next season.  There was even a report on Wednesday that there have been no discussions of a trade or buyout and James is expected to be at training camp.  The Lakers have a good team, having Luka Doncic and LeBron James is usually going to have you at a good starting point.  They added a center with Deandre Ayton, though I am skeptical of the fit but we shall see.  Dorian Finney-Smith is a better player than Jake LaRavia so they got worse on the wing.  Can they compete with the likes of Oklahoma City?  Probably not, they got pretty exposed by the Timberwolves in the playoffs last year but this is still a good team who will win a good amount of games next season.  The rumors are swirling on LeBron James and if he is going to play for the Lakers next season.  It sounds like he is going to but this is still a fun hypothetical conversation to have.