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.

LeBron James becoming available has, typically, been a seismic NBA event. Teams famously spent the several years leading up to his 2010 free agency clearing cap space. Pretty much all league business halted for the first 11 days of July in 2014 as teams schlepped across the country first to Cleveland and then,

It would be entirely illogical for the Lakers to buy out James. He was a second-team All-NBA choice in 2024-25. Why would they get rid of him for nothing in return? While trades don't appear to be forthcoming, LeBron's name value plus talent give him legitimate trade value if he ends up requesting a deal.