LeBron James Returns to Cavaliers in Recent Mock Trade

LeBron James Returns to Cavaliers in Recent Mock Trade originally appeared on Athlon Sports.

LeBron James has enjoyed the benefit of being completely untouchable in each of his 22 seasons in the NBA. He has never requested a trade in his career and he's also never been shopped by any of the three organizations he's played for.

That all changed this offseason when the Los Angeles Lakers made it clear that they are prioritizing Luka Doncic.

LA made the bold move to acquire the Slovenian star midsea son by trading Anthony Davis and a first-round pick to the Dallas Mavericks, and since then, the writing has been on the wall that the team and James may be better off apart.

Enter the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have very little money to move around, but a plethora of problems to solve to ascend to contention.

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23)Jesse Johnson-Imagn Images

James, an Ohio native, spent 11 of his first 15 seasons in the land, where he was able to capture their first title in 2016. Nearly a decade later, the future Hall of Famer is on the brink of retirement and there has been tons of speculation that he could spend the twilight of his career in the place it all began.

Of course, a trade between the Cavs and Lakers would require considerable financial gymnastics to match salaries and provide equal compensation. For this reason, Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report crafted an intricate five-team trade between LA, Cleveland, the Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets.

In this mock trade, Cleveland would land James, Austin Reaves, Walker Kessler and a first-round pick, while sending out Darius Garland, De'Andre Hunter and Max Strus. It may be difficult for the Cavs to part ways with Garland, but if this deal was ever on the table, they should jump on it.

Reaves may not be the playmaker that the two-time All-Star is, but he's proven to be more than capable of handling the ball and running an offense in his career. Combine that with the fact that Cleveland gets a first-round pick and one of the most valuable young big men in the league with Kessler, and you get a rare win for all five teams.

There has been no concrete evidence to suggest James will be moved now or in the future, but his situation is one to keep an eye on if you are a Cavaliers fan.

This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 25, 2025, where it first appeared.

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