NBA Insider Unsure of LeBron’s Lakers Future; Mavs ‘Big 3’ with Luka, Kyrie?

ESPN’s Brian Windhorst isn’t sure LeBron James will play with the Los Angeles Lakers past this season, and he’s already been recruited by Kyrie Irving in an attempt to get him to form a Dallas Mavericks ‘Big 3’ with Luka Doncic.

Dalton Trigg | Jan 17, 2024

NBA Insider Unsure of LeBron’s Lakers Future; Mavs ‘Big 3’ with Luka, Kyrie? /

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The Dallas Mavericks face the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday night, and if recent history is any indicator, it should be a great game with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving battling against Lebron James and Anthony Davis (assuming Doncic and James play, that is – both are questionable).

It wouldn't truly be a Mavs-Lakers matchup without some sort of trade or free-agency speculation, though, and on the latest episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst expressed doubt about James' future with the Lakers past this season.

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen with LeBron in 2025," Windhorst said. "I feel like LeBron is gonna play next year, but I don’t know if it’s gonna be for the Lakers”

LeBron James, Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers — Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

This kind of speculation can be easily connected to the Mavs for several reasons. Not only does James have great relationships with Doncic, Irving and Dallas head coach Jason Kidd, but The Athletic's Shams Charania reported last summer that Irving reached out to James in order to gauge his interest in potentially coming to Big D.

Heading into tonight's matchup, the Mavs are 24-17 and sitting at fifth in the Western Conference standings despite having battled several injuries in the first half of the season. The Lakers are 20-21, good for 10th in the West with the Houston Rockets in their rearview mirror.

NBA Rumor: Kyrie Irving Recruiting LeBron James to Join Luka Doncic's Mavs

James is nearing the end of his illustrious career, but he still has a good bit left in the tank if he decides to move on to one final destination that gives him a chance to win another championship. Through 37 games, James is averaging 24.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.5 assists while shooting 52.4 percent overall and 39.0 percent from deep.

It's unlikely that James will request a trade before the Feb. 8 deadline, but since he has a player option for the final year of his contract, he would enter unrestricted free agency this summer. And if that happens, the speculation on his future will only grow.

As much as Irving has been linked to the Lakers in rumors over the last few years, perhaps it's time to start viewing LeBron to the Mavs as the more viable option on the table.

Published Jan 17, 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.