LeBron to Dallas? NBA Analyst Proposes Bold Trade Between Mavs & Lakers

The Ringer's Kevin O'Conner spitballed LeBron James trade ideas, and the Dallas Mavericks were one of the teams he experimented with.

Dalton Trigg | Feb 5, 2024

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Although it would be a shock for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James to be traded before Thursday's deadline, we've seen crazier things happen in the association. James, who is still playing at an unprecedented high level at the age of 39, could potentially leave the Lakers in free agency for nothing this summer.

In his latest piece for The Ringer, NBA analyst Kevin O'Conner tossed around some hypothetical LeBron trades, and the Mavs were one of the teams he used in his thought exercise. In this trade, he has the Mavs sending out Tim Hardaway Jr., Grant Williams, Richaun Holmes, a 2027 first-round pick, a 2028 first-round pick swap and a 2025 second-round pick in exchange for James.

LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers, Tim Hardaway Jr., Dallas Mavericks — Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

"LeBron would get the chance to form a Big Three with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving, his former running buddy," O'Conner writes. "There would be diminishing returns, however, as all three have overlapping skills. But the offense would be devastating as long as Irving and James are willing to sacrifice touches behind Doncic. Still, the fit is iffy."

It would be risky for the Mavs to give up what little future draft capital they have available for a 39-year-old player who could potentially leave them in the offseason, but creating a 'Big 3' with LeBron, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving would immediately thrust Dallas into title contention this season. And if the Mavs ended up winning a championship this season, no one will care about those future draft picks.

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In 45 games, James is avenging 24.9 points, which is far and away the best of any player in league history to have played in a 21st season. He's shooting 52.0 percent from the field, 39.8 percent from deep and also averaging 7.4 rebounds and 7.6 assists for the 26-25 Lakers. Rich Paul claims that his client won't be traded, but situations can change as the deadline nears. Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for updates.

Published Feb 5, 2024

DALTON TRIGG

Dalton Trigg is the Editor-In-Chief for Dallas Basketball, as well as the Executive Editor overseeing Inside The Rockets, Inside The Spurs, All Knicks, and The Magic Insider. He is the founder and host for the Mavs Step Back Podcast, which is a proud part of the Blue Wire podcast network. Trigg graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi’s College of Business and Economic Development with a bachelor’s degree in entrepreneurship in 2016. After spending a few years with multiple Dallas Mavericks-related blogs, including SB Nation’s Mavs Moneyball, Trigg joined DallasBasketball.com as a staff writer in 2018 and never looked back. At the start of 2022, he was promoted to the EIC title he holds now. Through the years, Trigg has conducted a handful of high-profile one-on-one interviews to add to his resume — in both writing and podcasting. Some of his biggest interviews have been with Mavs owner Mark Cuban, Mavs GM Nico Harrison, now-retired legend Dirk Nowitzki and many other current/former players and team staffers. Many of those interviews and other articles by Trigg have been aggregated by other well-known sports media websites, such as Yahoo Sports, CBS Sports, Bleacher Report and others. You can find Trigg on all major social media channels, but his most prevalent platform is on Twitter. Whether it’s posting links to his DBcom work, live-tweeting Mavs games or merely giving his opinions on things going on with Dallas and the rest of the NBA, the daily content never stops rolling. For any inquiries, please email Dalton@MavsStepBack.com.