How Lakers Fans Think A LeBron James Trade To Dallas Could Benefit Los Angeles
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Given that Dallas Mavericks All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving is currently pushing for a reunion with his old Cleveland Cavaliers comrade LeBron James in Dallas, a land free of income tax, one would naturally assume that the Mavericks are hoping to form their own All-Star "Big Three," comprising Irving, James, and guard Luka Doncic.
Since the news dropped earlier this morning, however, Los Angeles Lakers fans have cooked up a bit of a twist on a trade that would land James (who's under team control until at least the 2024 offseason) in the Lone Star State: trading James for Doncic.
Yours truly is fairly dubious that Irving would want James on a Mavericks team devoid of its most important star, but it's funny that a certain segment of Los Angeles fandom leapt to this conclusion.
Doncic, 24, is already a four-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA honoree. Last season, on the 38-44 Mavericks next to Irving, Doncic averaged 32.4 points on .496/.342/.742 shooting splits, 8.6 rebounds, 8.0 assists, and 1.4 steals a night. One of the elite ball handlers in the modern game, Doncic has led the Mavericks as far as the Western Conference Finals in 2022, but his inconsistencies on defense and need for a heliocentric offense to showcase his playmaking skillset have otherwise limited his postseason success.
No offense to LeBron James, who will turn 39 next season, but a James-for-Doncic swap would be a massive steal for the Lakers, one that their Western Conference Finals rival in Dallas would almost certainly shun. LA technically has just two future draft picks at its disposal, its 2023 first rounder (the No. 17 pick) and a first in 2029.
Fans are pushing for LA team president Rob Pelinka to offload James for Doncic, while making naked appeals to his vanity:
Do they understand how one-sided in the Lakers' favor this deal would be?
Perhaps not.
A James-Irving tandem in 2023-24 won't be quite as lethal as the Cleveland Cavaliers pairings of James and Irving that went to three straight NBA Finals together from the 2014-15 season through 2016-17. James is no longer the defender he was closer to his prime, while Irving has grown increasingly more erratic off the floor, to the point where it's never guaranteed when he'll be able to show up on it. Even a "Big Three" featuring Doncic, Irving and James would most likely be hampered by its defensive limitations.
Again, trading James for Doncic would be a massive coup for the Lakers, to the point that it's incredibly unlikely the Mavericks would ever sign off on such an exchange.
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