Mavericks New Betting Favorite To Trade For Lakers’ LeBron James

There’s a new betting favorite to trade for NBA legend LeBron James. 

The Dallas Mavericks are favored to land the Los Angeles Lakers superstar. 

The Dallas Mavericks are the new favorites to land LeBron James, per @BovadaOfficial

Dallas Mavericks (+125)
Miami Heat (+500)
Cleveland Cavaliers (+550)
Golden State Warriors (+600)
New York Knicks (+800) pic.twitter.com/mWDSlpVsgV

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 15, 2025

James has connections with the Mavericks. He played with Kyrie Irving on the Cleveland Cavaliers and Anthony Davis and D’Angelo Russell on the Lakers. 

Dallas head coach Jason Kidd was an assistant coach on the 2019-20 Los Angeles team. James, Davis and Kidd won the 2020 title against the Miami Heat at the Walt Disney World bubble. 

The Lakers and Mavericks made a blockbuster trade last season, as Dallas traded Luka Doncic to Los Angeles for Davis and Max Christie. Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison used to be an exec at Nike, so he and James have a rapport as well. 

After James, 40, picked up his 2025-26 player option with the Lakers, his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, issued the following statement to NBA insider Shams Charania of ESPN:

“LeBron wants to compete for a championship. He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.

“We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future. We do want to evaluate what’s best for LeBron at this stage in his life and career. He wants to make every season he has left count, and the Lakers understand that, are supportive and want what’s best for him.”

The Lakers are building for the future with Doncic, who is only 26 years old. James, the oldest active player in the NBA, wants to compete for a championship next season. 

For James to end up in Dallas, he has to request a trade from Los Angeles and tell the Lakers to trade him to the Mavericks.

LeBron can control his future since he has a no-trade clause in his contract.