‘Only’ Scenario for Dallas Mavericks to Add LeBron James Revealed originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

After LeBron James opted into the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, speculation immediately began to run rampant regarding whether or not he would ask for a trade.

James is one of only two players in the league with a no-trade clause, joining Bradley Beal, and if he were to accept a trade, it would be to either the Dallas Mavericks or his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Building a mock trade to get James to Dallas is not that hard on paper, although there is no chance that the Mavs, even with Nico Harrison calling the shots, would agree to limit their future flexibility to add LeBron, especially not with Cooper Flagg in town.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the door is closed on bringing James to Dallas, although the Lakers would have to commit massive sums of money for very little return. 

“Dallas, I’m told that they would only be interested in LeBron in a buyout situation,” reported ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. 

James is one of the most expensive players in the NBA, and adding him in a trade is a near-impossible task, although if he were to be bought out and signed with the Mavericks, Dallas would not be on the hook for the vast majority of his new salary.

“It’s going to be such an easy trade to figure out LeBron at $52.6 [million],” McMenamin joked. “And let’s throw in an extra contract there, too,” referring to Bronny James, who would presumably be traded to whichever team landed James. 

Would the Lakers part with James? No! He is still an All-NBA level player and one of the most valuable athletes in the world. Even as they build around Luka Doncic, it’s more likely for James to walk in free agency next summer–or just retire–than the Lakers to willingly give up the face of the NBA.

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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.