Mavericks dodged the LeBron James circus that would've derailed the Cooper Flagg era

LeBron James wanted to play Russian roulette, and the Dallas Mavericks politely declined.

Early in the summer, there were rumblings that there was some “curiosity” about joining forces with former teammates Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving in Dallas. The rumors were real and hard to ignore.

Why Dallas made the right decision by avoiding a LeBron James trade

Now looking back, it seems that the Mavericks made the right decision to steer clear of the scrutiny and added pressure that James’ presence would have brought to the American Airlines Center.

There are some massive reasons why this partnership ultimately did not materialize, and everyone knows trading for him would've come with some major risks.

1. The Cooper Flagg era made adding LeBron James unnecessary

The Mavs drafted Cooper Flagg on June 25, and James exercised his one-year player option to stay in LA a few days later, on June 29. James saw the writing on the wall and re-signed to play on a Lakers team more focused on building around former Maverick Luka Doncic than his perceived comforts. These are unfamiliar waters for a player like James, who is used to being the featured player and media darling for any team he plays on.

And this is the exact reason why a James and Flagg partnership would be tempestuous at best.

Jason Kidd empowered Flagg early on by putting the ball in his hands and experimenting with Flagg at point guard. This didn’t work out, but the message was clear. Flagg is Dallas’s franchise player, and he’s expected to be more than a spectator.

James's presence on the floor would inadvertently have Flagg sitting and waiting for the ball more than the Mavs would like. Dwyane Wade was able to adjust to James’s tendencies as a 28-year-old NBA veteran. But Flagg just turned 19 and has yet to scratch the surface of his potential. And by all accounts, his game is blossoming game by game.

Plus, James's early friction with a young Irving in Cleveland is well-documented. The result of that? Irving eventually left Cleveland to get out from under James's shadow. And Dallas does not want a repeat performance with Flagg.

2. Father Time is tugging on LeBron James' cape

James is still a very productive player. But he will be turning 41 on December 30. Father Time is undefeated, and he is starting to tap James on the shoulder.

James missed the first 14 games of this season with a sciatica injury to his back. The Mavs are already nursing Davis and Irving back to health as they advance in age. Adding a soon-to-be 41-year-old to the equation would be bad math. The Mavs are a team fraught with continuity issues. Players in and out of the lineup. Adding an older James would have only exacerbated the issue.

Offensively, James is still effective in short bursts. But in the past few years, his on-ball defense has suffered because he tries to conserve his energy for offense. This would be particularly detrimental in a Western Conference that features a slew of talented wing players like Anthony Edwards, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, and a host of others that he would be forced to contend with on the perimeter.

Also, the Mavs had a less athletic but younger version of LeBron previously in Doncic, and felt they needed to make defensive upgrades after the 2024 NBA Finals. An older James would bring the same problems with less return.

3. Dallas hasn't decided if it wants to win now or build for the future

The Mavericks have found themselves in a tenuous game of trying to win now or build for the future. Adding James to that uncertain mix would be a bad recipe.

James is known for applying extreme pressure (publicly and privately) to NBA front offices to acquire his preferred personnel, regardless of how it guts the roster and depletes resources for the future. He is always in win-now mode.

However, the Mavs are in flux, and James’s urgency to maximize the final year or two of his career might have influenced the front office to make moves that could have jeopardized the Mavericks’ big picture.

Lastly, the Anthony Davis saga continues. And his recent groin injury has not made things easier for a Mavs team that has now lost four out of its last five games. The Mavericks were showing signs of life and racing to a potential play-in berth.

But now Davis might be merely auditioning for his next destination. His unpredictable health has been a thorn in Dallas’s side and hasn’t done much to alleviate the sting of the Doncic trade.

With no clear path moving forward, James would most assuredly find himself voicing his frustrations (as he has been known to do), and that's probably not the best environment for a young player like Flagg to thrive in.

The Mavericks find themselves at an impasse this season. But avoiding the LeBron James circus was a step in the right direction. They would've had to trade for him to make things work, and gutting their depth for a superstar at the end of his career was the last thing they needed to do as they look to build around Cooper Flagg.