Fantasy Sports

Mock Blockbuster Sends LeBron James South for His NBA Swan Song—The Lakers Return Will Shock You

Alan Goldsher|
Will LeBron James and Anthony Davis be wearing these uniforms for the entirety of the 2025-26 NBA season? Probably. But not definitely.
Will LeBron James and Anthony Davis be wearing these uniforms for the entirety of the 2025-26 NBA season? Probably. But not definitely. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

In this story:

Los Angeles LakersDallas Mavericks

Show of hands: Did you think LeBron James would play professional basketball until he turned 96?

Yeah, I did too. And after having watched the King since his 1969 NBA debut, I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he finished the 2034 season averaging a triple-double.

But it’s looking more and more like Akron's finest will shut it down after the 2025-26 campaign.

This news raises at least three questions:

  • (1) Does it behoove James to finish his career in Lakers purple and gold?
  • (2) Will his partnership with Luka Doncic evolve into a Jordan and Pippen kind of deal, or is this (theoretically) generational pairing a mismatch?
  • (3) Most importantly, will LBJ have a better shot at a ring outside of Cali?

For this thought exercise, let’s go with choice three.

Bron For Brow

On February 1, 2025, this happened:

My knee-jerk reaction was, “Dumbest. Trade. Ever.”

I suspect I wasn’t the only one who felt that shipping Luka out of Texas—and getting injury-in-waiting Anthony Davis in return—was an absurd move for the Mavs. Absurd, I tells ya.

The Luka-fied Lakers had a nice run to finish the year—as per StatMuse, they played at a 15-8 clip when James and Doncic were in the starting lineup together—but they weren’t anywhere strong enough to make a legitimate postseason run out West.

That being the case, let’s say we stipulate the LeBron/Luka duo won’t gel quickly enough to nab a Larry O'Brien here in LeBron’s (potential) career denouement. That being the case, maybe we should give the Chosen One a chance to finish out his career on top.

So let’s send him to Dallas.

The Nutty Deal’s Framework

Dallas Receives

  • LeBron James
  • Bronny James
  • Los Angeles Lakers’ 2026 second-round draft pick (from TOR)

Los Angeles Lakers Receive

  • Anthony Davis
  • Jaden Hardy
  • Dallas’ 2029 first-round draft pick (from LAL)

A third team would need to get in on the action to get this one across the finish line, but this is a start.

Why It Works For Dallas

An Anthony Davis/Cooper Flagg combo platter doesn’t get me super-excited, primarily because...

  • Entering his age-32 season, Davis is on the back end of his career.
  • The University of Kentucky product has never played a complete 82-game season, topping 74 starts in just three of his 13 years in the Association.
  • If you’re the Mavs, do you want to take a chance on wasting Flagg’s rookie year with an injured Davis and a potentially hobbled Kyrie Irving?

Of course you don’t.

Playing next to James, Flagg would both thrive and get an invaluable education, giving him the opportunity to crush it this season and beyond.

And it’s not like the Davis-less Mavs would be hurting in the paint; a Flagg/Derrick Lively/Daniel Gafford frontcourt would be a veritable defensive fortress.

Can a starting five of Irving, James, Flagg, Lively, and Gafford hang with the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder? Maybe, maybe not, but it would sure be fun to find out.

Why It Works For Los Angeles

Just give the keys to Luka already.

Remember, the last season in which Doncic was fully healthy—2023-24—the Slovenian beast dragged a meh Mavericks team to the NBA Finals, and there’s no reason to think that playing alongside Davis and Austin Reaves—without LeBron inhibiting his Luka-ness—he couldn’t do it again.

Granted, health and beer consumption will play a major role in Doncic's performance, but if he can avoid injury and keep away from the Fulton Lonely Blonde Ale, this Lakers team can compete today, and, come 2026-27—after James hangs ‘em up—make further inroads in the West.

Landing that first-rounder is key—the Lakers currently don’t have firsts in 2027 or 2029—and the trade would give them the opportunity to build around Doncic moving forward.

Yes, a Davis return to La La Land is, in a word, weird, and it’s far from a guarantee that this deal could get either of these franchises past an OKC team fielding a starting lineup that averages 25.8 years of age.

But it’d sure make the Western Conference an interesting place to be for the next half-decade.

Planting the (Fantasy) Flagg

In terms of fantasy hoops, this move could elevate the neophyte Flagg to elite status.

As he is wont to do, James would play his fair share of point guard and point forward, giving the rookie out of Duke a few more opportunities at the basket. And without Davis hogging, er, dominating the rock, Flagg's usage rate and field goal opportunities should trend up, making him worthy of a late-second-round or early-third-round pick

But fantasy stuff aside, this blockbuster would guarantee that the LeBron James/Cooper Flagg and the Luka Doncic/Anthony Davis twosomes would make the 2025-26 NBA season must see TV.   

More Fantasy Sports On SI News:

Published | Modified
Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.

Home/NBA