3 reasons why trading for LeBron James would destroy the Dallas Mavericks' franchise

Make sure you strap in tight because the NBA off-season is starting to look like it will be a wild ride. Shams Charania of The Athletic dropped an intriguing tweet claiming that according to sources, "Kyrie Irving has reached out to Lakers star LeBron James in attempts to see if James would come to Dallas. Irving is a free agent this offseason."

If his sources are correct, that leaves quite a lot to unpack. It would mean Irving is interested in pairing up with James again. It is also interesting that Dallas is the desired destination in this scenario.

Regardless of how juicy this story is, and could be, it doesn't make sense for the Dallas Mavericks.

3. Dallas Would Mortgage Their Future

For starters, LeBron isn't a free agent, and the Lakers wouldn't just hand him over to Dallas. The Mavericks would have to match salaries and give the Lakers a reason to trade him. LeBron is also due to make roughly $47 million next season.

In a trade for James, the Mavs would likely have to put Josh Green and Jaden Hardy in the deal, plus the tenth pick in the 2023 NBA draft. Dallas would also have to include some combination of Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock, and Davis Bertans to make salaries match.

It could be argued that Dallas might be able to keep the tenth pick, Green, or Hardy if a third team is added to make the trade work. But it's hard to imagine a scenario where a deal of this magnitude is made without the Mavs giving up all three.

Those two guys and the draft pick are the only youth Dallas has to build around for the future (outside of Luka Doncic). Dallas would have almost nothing left for the future, even if two of those three assets were gone.

The Dallas Mavericks' roster would consist of Doncic, Kyrie Irving, James, and some guys on minimum contracts.

LeBron also has a player option after next season, which means the Mavs would only be guaranteed to have him for one year. In the event he either retired or left Dallas after the 2023-2024 season, the Mavs could only trade their 2027 first-round pick (due to previous trades with the Knicks and Nets) to potentially rebuild the entire roster around Luka and Kyrie (if they stay). The 2026 first-round pick would be available if the 2024 pick conveys to the Knicks.

The NBA doesn't allow teams to trade first-round picks in back-to-back seasons.

2. Luka Doncic Would Leave

In that scenario, even if James stays for two years, Luka Doncic would likely be gone following LeBron's final season in Dallas.

There is almost no conceivable way the Mavs would be able to hang onto Luka entering either his age 25 or 26 seasons with no talent on the roster and no possible way to acquire it. There has already been considerable chatter about Doncic leaving with what the Mavs have now.

That means Luka would likely ask to be traded to a team where his prime NBA years wouldn't be wasted on a lottery team.

Considering Kyrie Irving's lack of loyalty to any NBA franchise, he would likely sign just a one or two-year deal to match Lebron's stay in Dallas, so he would probably be gone too.

For Dallas, they would be looking at a long-term rebuild with no star to build around. They would have money to play with in free agency, but that hasn't historically been kind to them.

Making Dallas an even less attractive destination, there wouldn't be a proven player left on the team to pair up with. Dallas would have to strike gold and sign multiple stars, all of which would be of a lower quality talent than what they already had in Luka Doncic.

Even in the hypothetical situation that Luka wanted to stay, the Mavs would be better off trading him to restock their draft capital and start a rebuild. They couldn't compete with Luka and some veteran minimum-caliber guys around him. Dallas hasn't been able to compete with more than that, and this situation would be much worse.

1. Acquiring LeBron James Wouldn't Make Them Contenders

Let's not forget that LeBron will be turning 39 years old this December and hasn't played more than 56 games in five of the last six seasons. He played 67 games during the 2019-2020 season, but that year also included a break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Over the last six seasons, Kyrie Irving has only played 290 out of a possible 482 regular season games. That averages out to about 48 games every year.

Luka Doncic hasn't exactly been an iron man, either. He's only averaging 66 regular season games per season during his five-year NBA career.

That means Dallas would rely on three players prone to missing considerable chunks of games throughout the season. How would they compete in a Western Conference that is stacked with talent?

Trading for LeBron would still leave them with the same holes they are trying to plug this off-season. Rim protection, rebounding, and perimeter defense would remain glaring weaknesses. James can rebound, but he and Luka get the same-type rebounds. They would undoubtedly eat into each other's numbers there, and Dallas would still need a new big to swallow up the tough-bouncing rebounds.

Offensively, all three guys are most impactful with the ball in their hands. Sure, they would probably have amazing highlight reel plays and have some stretches where their one-on-one talents would win some games, but they wouldn't complement one another's strengths.

Luka has struggled to show interest up to this point when he is playing off the ball. Kyrie Irving can do it, but he's at his best creating off the dribble. LeBron shot 32 percent from three in the 2022-2023 regular season and just 26 percent in the playoffs.

Having two guys share ball-handling responsibilities is doable, if not preferred. Who would be the lead ball handler when all three guys are on the court together?

The lack of spacing LeBron would create without the ball in his hands due to his poor three-point shooting would almost make him the preferred option. But that takes away from what makes Luka and Kyrie special.

Defensively, it would be a horror show. Think about how bad the Dallas defense was last year, and then make it worse. That's what the Mavericks would look like if they traded for LeBron.

A 39-year-old LeBron would be the team's best defender, and he hasn't shown the ability or will to be a consistently good defensive player in years. Doncic is a decent defender when he tries, but his fatigue and lack of speed prevent him from stopping the more formidable offense guards in the NBA. Irving tries hard on defense, but his lack of size makes him a target for opposing offenses.

They would get torched against good offensive teams or any team that is above average athletically.

Trading for LeBron wouldn't make the Dallas Mavericks contenders. It would destroy their future and almost surely be signing Luka's ticket out of Dallas in a couple of years.