Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James turned some heads in the NBA world on Sunday by picking up his player option with L.A. but raising questions about his future in the process.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported James’ decision to opt into his deal for the 2025-26 season, but Charania also relayed some comments from James’ agent Rich Paul which changed the tone of the situation. Paul explained that James understands L.A. is building for the future but values a “realistic chance of winning it all.”
“We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career,” Paul said in part.
The comments from Paul have led to considerable speculation about the possibility of James asking for a trade at some point, and to add to the noise, Lakers insider Jovan Buha is reporting that there’s been some “buzz” linking James to the Dallas Mavericks lately.
Jovan Buha on LeBron James:
There has been some buzz I will say in the general NBA ether over the last week or two with LeBron and Dallas… If he does ask out… I would say keep an eye on Dallas…
(via @jovanbuha, h/t @KevinGraySports)
pic.twitter.com/SrH00IUfFE— MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) June 30, 2025
The Mavs and Lakers are already intertwined to some extent due to the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis trade that took place during the 2024-25 season. If James were to land with Dallas, he’d get to play alongside Davis again after the two players won a championship together in 2020.
A deal sending James to the Mavs would also reunite him with star guard Kyrie Irving, another player he won a championship with back in 2016. Irving suffered a torn ACL in the 2024-25 season but is expected to return at some point in the 2025-26 campaign.
Of course, this all assumes that players like Davis and Irving wouldn’t be part of the package sent to L.A. in exchange for James.
But ultimately, it’s likely too soon to speculate about all the possibilities of James being traded anywhere, especially since he hasn’t asked out. In addition, there appears to be some doubt about whether there would even be a trade market for the NBA’s all-time leading scorer.
.@BobbyMarks42 says "there isn't" a trade market for LeBron James 😯 pic.twitter.com/aMLV1WNbNy
— Get Up (@GetUpESPN) June 30, 2025
For now, James, arguably the greatest player of all time, remains a Laker, and L.A. may get another chance to win a title with him in the 2025-26 season. But if the team wants it to stay that way, it may need to make some roster improvements this offseason in order to satisfy the future Hall of Famer.
