Exclusive: NBA insider talks LeBron James' free agency, potential future with Mavs

The Dallas Mavericks are in the middle of one of their best playoff runs in franchise history as they are officially one win away from the NBA Finals.

Dallas being up 3-1 on the Minnesota Timberwolves is extremely impressive, and while everyone's eyes are on the Mavs as they hope to close out Minnesota, eyes from around the NBA world are on something else.

LeBron James is expected to become an unrestricted free agent if he doesn't opt in to his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, and rumors are flying about where James could end up. There have been rumors that the Philadelphia 76ers could be a "threat" to sign him, and one NBA insider set everything straight about James' potential upcoming free agency.

Exclusive: NBA insider talks LeBron James' free agency, potential future with Mavs

The Smoking Cuban had the chance to chat with NBA insider Brian Windhorst of ESPN, and we dove into James' potential options this summer if he does decide to not opt into his contract with the Lakers and become an unrestricted free agent.

To start, Windhorst said "(James) is going to re-sign with the Lakers, probably," saying that if James doesn't opt into his contract, it would be to create some options on ways he and the Lakers can structure his new potential contract. Windhorst said that he doesn't think that James' free agency is a big deal, and said that it is "nothing that's a surprise at all."

When asked about the rumor that the Mavs could draft Bronny James to try to lure LeBron to Dallas, Windhorst said he would rule out the Mavs making a move for him in free agency, but he did say "(he) think(s) (James) loves Luka (Doncic). I think there was a time when he was very interested in making a partnership with Luka. He wanted Luka to wear his shoes, Luka decided to go a different direction."

Windhorst then dove into how he thinks Doncic has his duo partner of the future in Kyrie Irving, and said "I don't think the Mavericks should touch anything. I think they got it going right now, keep this rolling."

With Windhorst thinking LeBron is going to stay in Los Angeles while also ruling out the possibility of him coming to Dallas, we then dove into James' future after his next potential contract with the Lakers (if he stays).

Windhorst said he doesn't think LeBron will go anywhere, but he's learned over the years of covering him "that you should never rule anything out."

LeBron or Bronny coming to Dallas seems like a longshot at this point, but LeBron's ties to the Mavs and some of their players are undeniable. Irving tried to recruit LeBron to Dallas last summer, and there seems to be a mutual interest between him and Doncic to team up one day.

The buzz floating around Bronny is that he'll only work out for a couple of teams, with the Lakers and Phoenix Suns being two of those teams, and there has been no news on if he'd consider working out for the Mavs.

Doncic grew up a huge fan of LeBron, and LeBron always speaks highly of Doncic when he has the chance. It may not happen this year, but LeBron and Doncic teaming up one day would form one of the greatest duos this league has ever seen. Regardless of how much of a longshot it seems like, you should never rule anything out with LeBron, just like Windhorst said.

For all the latest on Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks throughout the rest of the 2024 NBA Playoffs and into the offseason, stay tuned.