LeBron James Picked to Cut Ties With Lakers, Move On to Unlikely Landing Spot

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LeBron James may end up in Dallas, some experts say.

For a 40-year-old guy who just mdke himself $52.6 million with the stroke of a pen, Lebron James seems about as unsure of his decision as anyone could possibly be. At least, that is, if the recent media speculation about his immediate future is to be believed.

In fairness, it isn’t just media pundits speculating off the tops of their heads. James’ own agent fueled the frenzy. Now it appears that almost no one believes that the NBA’s all-time leading scorer will play next season in Los Angeles, where just a week ago he exercised the player option on his Lakers contract — something he had never done before.

Throughout his 22-year career, any time James has had the opportunity to become a free agent, he has taken it. So why, when he finally broke with precedent and opted in to, rather than out of, a contract, would James turn around and cut ties with the Lakers anyway?

Expert Calls Dallas ‘Realistic’ Destination For James

And if he did, would he end up in Dallas with the Mavericks, the team that traded its own superstar, Luka Dončić, to the Lakers in February where he teamed with James to, at least in theory, make potentially the most powerful two-man combination in the entire NBA?

Dallas would certainly be an unexpected landing spot for James, but that is exactly where Bleacher Report NBA expert Zach Buckley picks as a “realistic landing spot” for James in the 2025-2026 season.

If the Mavericks want to persuade James to relocate from Southern California too Texas, they could “cobble together a compelling argument with losing any of Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving or Cooper Flagg, all three likely among the leading reasons James might have interest in joining Dallas,” Buckley wrote.

“Also high up that list would be head coach Jason Kidd, whom James played with on Team USA and later for when he was an assistant on L.A.’s 2019-20 title team,” the B/R writer continued.

There’s no doubt that a starting five of James, Davis, Flagg and Irving and center Daniel Gafford would immediately become the NBA’s newest super team, and perhaps the most feared lineup in the league.

James’ Best Chance at Fifth and Final Championship

Comments by James’ agent Rich Paul — the same comments that sparked the speculation that James wants out of Los Angeles — seem to indicate that a formidable lineup like that one is exactly the type of “win now” environment that James os looking for as he chases a fifth and possibly final championship to cap off his unprecedented NBA career.

Of course, there are a few problems with the James-to-Dallas scenario. One is that Irving, the former No. 1 overall draft pick by the Cleveland Cavaliers out of Duke, who was one of James most important teammates on the Cavaliers’ 2016 NBA Championship winners, may miss the entire season recovering from surgery to repair a torn ACL — though recent, more optimistic assessments have him returning by January of 2026.

There is also the issue of apron space Dallas, according to the sports business site Spotrac, has just $43.8 million of space before it hits the second apron limit, which comes with severe, even crippling restrictions or roster development and player movement.

The Mavericks would need to shed about $10 million worth of salary, somewhere, if they wanted to add James’ $52.6 million paycheck. Either that or they would need to do the seemingly impossible and persuade James to take a $10 million pay cut.

Jonathan Vankin JONATHAN VANKIN is an award-winning journalist and writer who now covers baseball and other sports for Heavy.com. He twice won New England Press Association awards for sports feature writing. He was a sports editor and writer at The Daily Yomiuri in Tokyo, Japan, covering Japan Pro Baseball, boxing, sumo and other sports. More about Jonathan Vankin