The Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James do not appear to be on good terms currently. Plenty of reports have come out that suggest the two sides could part ways.
Some think a trade might occur. Others simply think that James will play out the final season on his contract and either leave for another team or retire next offseason.
More trade buzz has been coming up by the day. There have been a lot of connections between James and a return to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Despite all of the trade speculation, there are hurdles to overcome in order for a trade to make sense.
A new report has come out regarding the situation between James and the Lakers.
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Sam Quinn of CBS Sports has reported that while it makes sense for James to be traded, talks are “dead on the vine.” James is playing the final year of his contract at $52.6 million, which is a very difficult number for teams to pay.
“The real problems here are financial. Any of these teams could theoretically land James. In the old world, they might have,” Quinn wrote.
“But the LeBron sweepstakes seem dead on the vine at the moment, unable to generate enough momentum to even really get started. Like so many other moves lately, the possibility of a James trade is getting killed by the new CBA.”
Quinn mentioned the Cavaliers, who are $20 million above the second tax apron and the Dallas Mavericks as possible destinations. It has been reported that the Mavericks would only have interest in James if he were bought out.
James is still playing at an elite level. He has slowed down some from his prime years, but he’s still a franchise caliber player.
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During the 2024-25 NBA season with Los Angeles, James played in 70 games. He averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds, and a steal per game, while shooting 51.3 percent overall and 37.6 percent from three-point range.
It will be interesting to see what the outcome of this situation ends up being. The most likely scenario is that James plays the 2025-26 season with the Lakers.
That being said, if a team decides to get aggressive and views James as the final piece of a championship puzzle, a trade could materialize at some point.
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