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The idea of LeBron James landing with the Dallas Mavericks has kindled into a trade rumor blaze — not to be confused with the pizza company owned by “The King” — after Shams Charania reported on June 5 that Kyrie Irving reached out to the NBA leading all-time scorer with the hopes of recruiting him to the DFW.
A James trade that would be considered a “fleece” of the Mavericks was proposed by Lake Show Life’s Josh Cornelissen, that’d see the Los Angeles Lakers acquire Josh Green, Jaden Hardy, Reggie Bullock, Maxi Kleber, Davis Bertans, Dallas’ 2023 No. 10 overall draft pick, and a 2027 first-round pick.
Such a proposal would keep Tim Hardaway Jr. as an off-ball threat alongside a new all-time Big Three in Dallas, though it would keep the remaining two years and $34 million off the Lakers’ books. Perhaps that’s where the “fleece” label comes in.
Cornelissen believes that the Mavericks would be opposed to this proposal at first but would eventually relent once it’s understood that it’ll take that much to get a deal done for the 19-time All-NBA legend.
“Would the Mavericks make this deal? Certainly not at first, but they probably do eventually talk themselves into it,” Cornelissen wrote. “Fielding a team with three superstars is nearly impossible under the new CBA, but since it doesn’t kick in until 2024-25 the Mavs would have one season to make a run at it before figuring out the damages next summer.”
LeBron James Rumors a ‘Ploy’ to Get Kyrie Irving to Lakers
According to All Lakers’ Matt Levine, the James-to-Mavericks rumors are merely a ploy to get the Lakers to go “all in” on attempting to sign Irving — and both James and Irving are aware of this.
“Realistically, this idea is just a dream as the Mavericks don’t have the pieces to trade for James and the only way it would be possible for him to join, would be the Lakers buying him out,” Levine wrote. “Which isn’t going to happen. Both players know this fact so this all seems like a ploy or a power move to try and push the Lakers to go all in and bring Irving to sunny California. Getting Irving would form a strong trio of James, Irving and Anthony Davis. The three would compliment each other well on the court and make the Lakers one of the favorites to win it all.”
Levine writes that the Lakers will have their hands tied by James and his previous mention of retirement and may have to sign Irving to avoid having that leverage used against them.
“Los Angeles would need to sacrifice depth from their roster to bring Irving in but if James is dead-set on playing with Irving for his last season or two, the team may have to make it happen,” Levine prefaced before saying, “After all, James did hint at a possible retirement so he could always fall back on that.”
Analyst: Mavericks Have ‘Zero Chance’ at LeBron James Trade
NBA insider Marc Stein poured cold water on the rumors that James could be on his way to the Lone Star State, claiming that there was “zero chance” the Mavericks would be able to assemble a trade package for “The King.”
“The Mavericks have roughly zero chance of assembling a legitimate trade push for the Lakers’ LeBron James, who isn’t even available via trade and only would be, realistically, if he were the one urging the Lakers to send him elsewhere,” Stein wrote.
It’s unclear where else James would want to land, with reunions with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat theoretically on the table given his past free-agent decisions. But Stein doesn’t think James’ fourth career home will be in Dallas.
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