Could LeBron James force a trade to the Mavericks?
Right now, it is hard to imagine James demanding a trade anytime soon. But anything is certainly possible with him.
One would figure that if he does want out, he may opt to be traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, one of his former teams, or possibly the New York Knicks or even the Golden State Warriors. But Lakers beat writer Jovan Buha said on a recent episode of "Buha's Block" that there has been "buzz" about the Dallas Mavericks being a possible destination for the 40-year-old.
'I will say that there has been some LeBron-and-Dallas buzz going on a couple years now,' said Buha. 'Remember in the summer of 2023, right after Dallas had traded for Kyrie, there was that rumor out there that LeBron was gonna go to Dallas on a vet minimum contract and team up with Draymond [Green], and it was gonna be Luka, Kyrie, LeBron and Draymond. That, of course, did not happen. But there has been some buzz I will say in the general NBA ether over the last week or two with LeBron and Dallas.'
In some ways, Dallas would make a lot of sense for James. The team has Anthony Davis, the superstar big man with whom he won the NBA championship in 2020, as well as plenty of talent that it could give up in a potential trade. Dallas could hypothetically meet the Lakers' demands in such a deal and still have enough around James to contend for a championship.
Plus, Kyrie Irving, James' old All-Star teammate in Cleveland, is with the Mavericks. According to Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson, the two players talked two years ago about possibly teaming up in Dallas.
'Kyrie asked LeBron to find a way to come to the Dallas Mavericks,' a source familiar with the call told Robinson. 'At the end of their conversation, LeBron told him: 'I'll think about it.''
Right now, the Lakers haven't done much of note after the first official day of NBA free agency. Forward Dorian Finney-Smith left to join the Houston Rockets, and while they got an agreement from forward Jake LaRavia, they still have a need for at least one two-way wing and a dire need for help at the center position.
Paul made it clear that James wants to be able to win an NBA championship this coming season. If the Lakers strike out in free agency and on the trade market this summer, all eyes would be on James to see if he becomes upset enough to want out.
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