NBA News: Cavaliers ‘Can’t Feasibly Trade’ For Lakers’ LeBron James

The reason James’ future with the Lakers has been a hot topic is because his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group, issued a cryptic statement to NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN after the leading scorer of all time picked up his 2025-26 player option. 

If you missed Paul’s comments, here they are: 

“LeBron 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 led the Cavaliers to their lone championship in 2016 against the Golden State Warriors. He’s the best player in franchise history and will get his No. 23 jersey retired by the organization one day. 

However, there’s no easy path for Cleveland to trade for James. It would have to be a three-team deal where the Cavaliers part ways with Darius Garland, Jarrett Allen and De’Andre Hunter.

While a “Big 3” of James, Donovan Mitchell and Evan Mobley would be fun to watch, the Cavaliers are “not that interested” in a James reunion, according to NBA insider Kurt Helin of NBC Sports. 

James is the oldest active player in the league, but he’s still really good. The four-time champion averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks for the Lakers last season in 70 starts.