LeBron James Trade ‘Not Impossible,’ Insiders Say, But Don’t Hold Your Breath

It’s not likely to happen. But this is the NBA we’re talking about, and LeBron James remains its biggest star. All is possible.

James is also spending part of his summer trolling fans a little bit. Not in a bad way, mind you — but all this noise about James isn’t by accident. He knows what he is doing in getting fans to talk about his next destination. And frankly, nothing wrong with that. As I’ve heard James himself say before, it’s just basketball.

Anyway, let’s back up for a minute. James, 40, started the summer by exercising a $52.6 million option on his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. If you ask me, the Lakers are the team for which James will play. (And since this is my website, you ARE asking me.)

But I’m not 1,000 percent sold on that being the case, either. For instance, in 2014, I thought there was a darn good chance James would leave the Miami Heat and return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. At the time, I did have a little bit of inside information that led me to that conclusion.

Nowadays? Not so much. I am leaning heavily toward LeBron staying with the Lakers. Like, very heavily. Whatever he’s doing now (liking Instagram pictures, getting his picture taken at the Cavs’ practice facility, etc.) is an obvious and probably fun attempt at making waves. Again, LeBron knows what he’s doing here.

As for inside info on his thinking … I have none. So I’ll leave that part to the ESPN insiders, who covered the James rumors in detail.

“It’s one of the biggest topics of conversation around the league,” wrote ESPN’s Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst. “The concept of a trade is not impossible — nothing is impossible in the NBA after the Luka Doncic trade — but it is unlikely due to James’ large salary and his no-trade clause.

“There were a few inquiries from eyebrow-raised teams, sources said, just to gauge whether this was something or nothing. For now, there is no action. But it is surely being monitored.”

The Cavs were not among the teams to inquire about James, sources told Hoops Wire. They believe they have a good thing going, and as everything stands right now, they are considered the heavy favorites to emerge from the Eastern Conference in 2026, per an ESPN poll. Their interest in James at this stage of his career, and at his current salary, is reportedly incredibly minimal.

This is the NBA, though, and I would never say never to anything.

“In a league that’s extremely and intimately familiar with strange circumstances, few in recent memory can rival this one,” Bontemps and Windhorst wrote. “But until James, or the Lakers, slams the door on the idea of him playing elsewhere next season, speculation will continue.”

In other words, LeBron could put an end to all this very easily. All he has to do is come out and say he’s committed to the Lakers and he’s not going anywhere. The fact he hasn’t done that is indeed a bit curious.

Still, I feel it’s a long shot that James is anywhere but L.A. next season, and I feel strongly about it.