Blockbuster 3-Team Trade Idea Sees Lakers Get Massive Haul for LeBron James

Will 21-time All-NBA Los Angeles Lakers power forward LeBron James finish up his Hall of Fame career in L.A.?

That's been the question plaguing league pundits ever since James' longtime agent at Klutch Sports, Rich Paul, told Shams Charania of ESPN that the four-time MVP was looking to win now, while seemingly suggesting that the Lakers as currently comprised can't win it all.

"LeBron wants to compete for a championship," Paul told Charania. "He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all.

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One team James has been linked to extensively, ever since it acquired nine-time All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving during the 2022-23 season, is the Dallas Mavericks.

That club, which includes two of James' former championship second fiddle teammates in Irving and 10-time All-Star power forward/center Anthony Davis, also lucked into No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg in this summer's draft, and seemingly boasts a bright future even after shipping out five-time All-NBA guard Luka Doncic to join James in L.A.

Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report has proposed an epic new three-team trade between the Mavericks, Lakers and Brooklyn Nets that could send James to Dallas while reuniting Doncic with several of the teammates who helped him reach the 2024 Finals — albeit no returning All-Stars.

Latest @BleacherReport A 3-Team Trade Idea To Pair LeBron James with His Former Co-Star - exploring HOW this type of move would look, should LeBron choose Dallas, the Mavs choose Bron & the Lakers are willing (Bronny too)https://t.co/WNjpGzqwhV
— Eric Pincus (@EricPincus) July 25, 2025

Here's the full breakdown of Pincus' pitch:

Lakers receive: Center Daniel Gafford, power forward PJ Washington, small forwards Naji Marshall and Caleb Martin, shooting guard Jaden Hardy (all from Dallas); 2030 and '31 Los Angeles second-round picks; $24.1 million trade exception (via James)

Mavericks receive: Power forward LeBron James, guard Bronny James (from Los Angeles); power forward Drew Timme, wing Tyrese Martin (from Brooklyn); $1.8 million trade exception (via Dwight Powell), $1.1 million trade exception (via Olivier-Maxence Prosper)

Nets receive: Shooting guard Dalton Knecht, power forward/center Maxi Kleber (from Los Angeles); forward Olivier-Maxence Prosper, power forward Dwight Powell (from Dallas)

Doncic would add a rim-running pogo-stick center in Gafford, a great lob threat who could compete for a starting role with new signing Deandre Ayton. Washington, along with Gafford, was a starter on that 2024 Dallas team. Marshall represents basically a more offensively viable version of 2024 Mavericks starting small forward Derrick Jones Jr.

While Martin didn't do much with the Mavericks, he was a recent 3-and-D starter on an NBA Finals team, the 2022-23 Miami Heat. The 23-year-old Hardy has some untapped upside.

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Pincus contends that the Lakers' move to shed an aging All-Star would be in service of carving out future cap space, adding rotational depth, and placating James.

"For now, it appears the franchise has set its eyes on the summer of 2026 and the possibility of using cap room to lure a second star," Pincus posits. "That plan is not without its risks (and flaws), but the immediate downside is potentially wasting a year in transition."

Unlike the 40-year-old James, whose $52.6 million contract expires next summer, some of these new additions would be on the Lakers' books beyond that, but all their deals are fairly movable.

"Sending off James for five viable rotation players completely shifts the team's identity," Pincus notes. "In the deal, Los Angeles gets under the luxury tax, takes a step to reset the putative repeater clock, while getting back a pair of seconds previously sent to the Nets (primarily the return for offloading Knecht)... Some of the incoming contracts have multiple years, but none are significantly expensive. Washington will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2025-26 season."

More news:

Lakers Make Another Major Roster Move Amid Marcus Smart Signing

Lakers Officially Waive Big Man in Surprise Roster Move

For more news and notes on the Los Angeles Lakers, visit Los Angeles Lakers on SI.