The rumors seem to bounce around on how interested the Mavericks would be in actually making a move to get him. The latest report comes from Dan Woike and Joe Vardon of The Athletic, who stated, "One team linked to James — the Dallas Mavericks — does not have interest in gutting its roster to match James’ salary in a trade."

While NBA superstar LeBron James picked up his $52.6 million player option with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2025-26 season, it did not guarantee that he would remain in L.A. How the Lakers would handle player acquisition via the draft and free agency led to speculation over whether James could be traded.