Dallas Mavericks Have Specific Condition to Add LeBron James Amid Rumors

NBA legend LeBron James picked up his 2025-26 player option with the Los Angeles Lakers worth $52.6 million.

However, some people believe James could request a trade from the Lakers after what his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, told Shams Charania of ESPN.

“LeBron James wants to compete for a championship,” Paul said. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.

“We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive, and want what’s best for him.”

James has been heavily linked to the Dallas Mavericks since he has played with Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis and has a rapport with Jason Kidd and Nico Harrison.

However, according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Mavericks are only interested in James if the future Hall of Famer becomes a free agent by getting bought out by the Lakers. As fellow DallasHoopsJournal.com writer Grant Afseth reported recently, many people around the league view the concept of a trade sending James to Dallas as “total nonsense.”

Dallas traded Luka Dončić to Los Angeles last season for Davis and Max Christie. The Mavericks missed the playoffs this year after making the NBA Finals last year.

Meanwhile, the Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games despite having Dončić and James.

The leading scorer in NBA history, James averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks for the Lakers last season in 70 games. He’s still an elite player despite being the oldest (40) guy in the league.

James won the 2016 championship with Irving on the Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2020 title with Davis and Kidd on the Lakers. While the odds of James leaving the Lakers are very, very low since his son, Bronny James, is on the team, no one ever thought Dončić would get traded by Dallas to Los Angeles.

With that said, anything is possible in today’s NBA.

DallasHoopsJournal.com’s Grant Afseth continued to this report.

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