Mavericks, Cavaliers Betting Favorites To Acquire LeBron James If He Requests Trade From Lakers

July 1, 2025

The Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers are the betting favorites to acquire LeBron James if the NBA legend requests a trade from the Los Angeles Lakers.

James, 40, picked up his player option for next season, but some people around the NBA believe the future Hall of Famer could request a trade from the Lakers if Rob Pelinka doesn’t improve the team this offseason.

The Mavericks are the betting favorites on @DKSportsbook to acquire LeBron James, if he requests a trade from the Lakers:

Dallas: +600
Cavaliers: +1000
Bucks: +2000
Warriors: +2500
Knicks: +3000

Kyrie Irving, Cooper Flagg, Anthony Davis and LeBron as a potential star quartet. pic.twitter.com/IBynPepaCz

— Evan Sidery (@esidery) July 1, 2025

After James picked up his 2025-26 player option with the Lakers, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports Group issued a statement to Shams Charania of ESPN.

“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Paul said. “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.”

James has played and won a championship with Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis, who are on the Mavericks.

Meanwhile, James has played for the Cavaliers twice. He helped the franchise win its lone title in 2016 with Irving.

James is the oldest active player in the NBA. He averaged 24.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.0 steals and 0.6 blocks for the Lakers last season in 70 games.

The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 playoffs in five games. James averaged 25.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 5.6 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.8 blocks in the five-game series.