2 Different Paths Cleveland Cavaliers Can Take to Trade for LeBron James

Just when it seemed like LeBron James might finally be fading into the twilight, he comes back with a vengeance to dominate the news cycle and prove that his star hasn't lost any shine. His first step might be a beat slower, his dunks a tad less thunderous, his chasedown blocks fewer and farther in between, but there's no doubt that the King is still one of the most impactful players in the NBA.

It's not unreasonable to say that James was the best player in the playoffs for a Los Angeles Lakers team that also featured 26-year-old phenom Luka Doncic. Speaking of Luka, it seemed like a lock that LeBron would play out the remainder of his career in LA after they managed to acquire a perennial MVP candidate smack dab at the beginning of his prime to help James compete for championships, but, apparently, that's not the case.

Cleveland Cavaliers have to capitalize if LeBron James is interested

It's been rumored that both he and the Lakers are looking into a potential breakup, further driven by his uncharacteristic choice to pick up his $52 million player option for the upcoming season in lieu of declining it and signing a new deal with LA. Once word got out that James was possibly looking for a new home, one team immediately emerged as an obvious candidate: the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The homecoming makes perfect sense from a narrative perspective. The Cavs are a competitive team, seemingly one big wing away from true NBA title contention. James coming back to Cleveland would give him the opportunity to go out on top, finishing it where it all started, bringing the Larry O'Brien trophy to his hometown team once again.

There have been conflicting reports about whether the Cavaliers are even interested in trading for LeBron, though. Some have surmised that it might behoove them to wait for him to play out the last year of his contract and add him on a minimum deal next summer. While signing him to a bargain contract would obviously be the best move competitively, it also risks insulting him or having him find a new home elsewhere while Cleveland sits around waiting.

Instead, the Cavs need to strike while the iron is hot, as they can offer the Lakers two different deals that LA would be wise to accept while retaining a roster capable of winning a championship. Cleveland doesn't have any assets outside of their core four, and they wouldn't be able to match James's salary without including any of their primary players anyway.

If they end up trading for LeBron, the question wouldn't be if they would include any of their core four, but rather who in their core four they'd give up. There are two different packages Cleveland could offer that would be a convincing deal for LA, accumulate the salary needed, and leave them with a roster that could win the title.

2 ways the Cavaliers could trade for LeBron James

The first option is sending out Evan Mobley along with another player or two to make the deal work financially. The former USC Trojan is by far the Cavalier with the most potential. He alone should convince the Lakers to swing this deal, giving Doncic an elite defensive playmaker in their backline as well as a lethal finishing threat that matches his timeline.

The second path would mean sending out Darius Garland, who makes nearly $7 million less than Mobley next season, along with one of their other high-salaried players, either Max Strus, Jarrett Allen, or De'Andre Hunter.

Trading Mobley would allow the Cavs to complete the deal while only giving up one rotation player, whereas sending Garland out would likely require attaching him to another meaningful contributor. On the bright side, depending on how hard LeBron James strongarms the Lakers, Cleveland would likely be getting back some additional compensation in any potential deal, whether it be draft capital or a young asset like Dalton Knecht.

Currently, the Cavaliers are about $20 million over the second apron, so they'll have to do some financial finagling to get under that threshold first. Otherwise, they're restricted from aggregating salaries in a trade, which essentially makes it impossible for them to trade for LeBron James.