LeBron Trade To Cooper Flagg’s Mavs Shockingly Tops Oddsmakers’ Predictions originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
DALLAS – LeBron James has opted into the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, which means at age, and maybe for the final time in his incredible career, he’ll get a monster payday.
His opt-in number? An eye-popping $52.6 million.
In conjunction with that, though, comes trade speculation…
And trade odds from the wise guys.
As our Jonah Kubicek at DallasBasketball.com notes, “James has often been the subject of rumors, none of them have ever had any merit. However, as the Lakers try and build around Luka Doncic, parting ways with James certainly fits their timeline.”
Indeed, it could be time for L.A. to have the baton passed, so to speak … and because this is the NBA, where star players have a massive say in what goes on, it could be time for James to decide to move as well.
Meanwhile, dating back to when the then-owner Mark Cuban traveled to Cleveland in the hopes of meeting James, which never happened, Dallas has dreamed of being the sort of alluring landing spot that might make this match possible.
What if James wants to reunite with two of his best old pals, Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, now both in Dallas? What if he sees greatness in new Mavs rookie Cooper Flagg, the No. 1 pick in the recent NBA Draft?
But first, let’s go back to DallasBasketball.com and a mock trade proposal…
Full Mock Trade Details:
- Lakers receive: Daniel Gafford, PJ Washington, Klay Thompson
- Mavericks receive: LeBron James, Bronny James
From Kubicek: “In this deal, the Lakers build the 2024 Dallas Mavericks 2.0, swapping out Irving for Austin Reaves, and finally allowing Klay Thompson to compete for a title next to Luka. It’s why he was eager to sign in Dallas to begin with, before Nico Harrison traded Doncic in the dead of night.
“While the Lakers get a better timeline with Doncic and Reaves, the Mavericks commit fully to a lineup of Irving, Davis, James, Cooper Flagg, and Naji Marshall. Of course, as Irving recovers from an ACL tear, the Mavericks will have to find a stopgap point guard. Flagg and James are both accomplished facilitators, although free agents like Chris Paul and D’Angelo Russell would fit.”
Mavericks are the #Lebron favorite if traded @SportsBettingAGpic.twitter.com/F5DRVAmLfy
— Shan Shariff (@1053SS) June 30, 2025
As much as this seems like a pipe dream, now we go to the oddsmakers. According to @SportsBettingAG, and this may come as a shock to some, Dallas is the favorite to land James should he be dealt, at 5/2 odds.
What do the Mavs want here? They might get less of a say than what the all-powerful James wants. But the mock trade shows the way, and the oddsmakers see the way.
Related: Former Mavericks’ Owner Mark Cuban Gets Honest About NBA Draft Format
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 30, 2025, where it first appeared.