LeBron James Trade to Mavs? Here's What Deal with Lakers Could Look Like
With a little more than two weeks remaining until the NBA Draft gets underway, The Athletic's Shams Charania set the Dallas Mavericks' fan base on fire on Monday morning when he reported that star point guard Kyrie Irving has "reached out" to Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James to see if he'd be interest in coming to Dallas.
Irving, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent on June 30, has been subjected to endless rumors linking him to the Lakers. However, here at DallasBasketball.com, we've always been of the opinion that it would make much more sense for James to join forces with Irving and Luka Doncic in Dallas instead of playing with just Irving in Los Angeles ... that is, if winning another championship is James' biggest goal going forward.
If Irving is successful in his efforts to recruit James, what would a potential trade between the Mavs and the Lakers look like? How does one assess the proper trade value for the league's all-time leading scorer who is still playing at a high level, but will also turn 39 years old next season while having some injury concerns with his foot?
Despite his age, James is still a top-10 player in the league when healthy, as he averaged 28.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists while shooting 50 percent from the field in 55 regular-season games for the Lakers, who made it to the Western Conference Finals before being swept by the Denver Nuggets. If draft compensation is the biggest part of potentially making a deal, here's a package the Mavs could offer:
Mavs receive: LeBron James
Lakers receive: Christian Wood (via sign-and-trade), Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, 2023 first-round pick (No. 10), 2027 first-round pick (unprotected)
The Lakers would likely want some of the Mavs' younger players – like Jaden Hardy or Josh Green – in a deal as well, but again, as good as James still is, it's hard to gauge what fair trade value would be for him given the risks that come with where he's currently at in his storied career.
The offseason fun is just starting to heat up, and the rumors and speculation should continue to grow in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for more on how a LeBron-to-Dallas trade could work.
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