LeBron James has been among the faces of the NBA his entire career, no matter what team he played on at the time. This includes the Cleveland Cavaliers (twice), Miami Heat, and now the Los Angeles Lakers.
He’s shown that he isn’t averse to switching teams if he feels it is the best for him and his team, including Klutch Sports agent and childhood friend Rich Paul.
After exercising his player option worth $52.6 million with the Lakers, Paul had some interesting soundbites regarding James’ future in Los Angeles and how championship-ready the team is at this time.
While there are still a lot of moving parts — most importantly, free agency, beginning on July 6, 2025 — that have yet to happen, the door has been opened to James, potentially asking out via trade request.
If that were to happen, then what teams would be interested and able to add the four-time NBA champion and four-time MVP?
5 Trade Landing Spots for Future Hall of Famer LeBron James
ESPN NBA Insider Shams Charania was the first to report the news of James exercising his player option, as well as the following quotes.
“Breaking: Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James is opting into his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told ESPN,” Charania wrote on X.
Breaking: Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James is opting into his $52.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told ESPN.
Paul adds: LeBron “knows the Lakers are building for the future … but he values a realistic chance of winning it all.” pic.twitter.com/q5mT1O2R35
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 29, 2025
In Charania’s story for ESPN, Paul says, “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 [Lakers governor Buss] and Rob [Lakers general manager Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.
“We understand the difficulty in winning now while preparing for the future,” Paul said. “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.”
While not directly stating James‘ desire to play elsewhere, it certainly wasn’t an all-in commitment to the Lakers. James and his camp have made similar comments, especially as he’s gotten older, with the intention of pushing the Lakers’ front office to be more aggressive in adding talent to the roster.
Though this may be a friendly reminder to improve the roster, James has had four separate tenures with teams in the NBA.
In a world where the Lakers don’t do enough, in James and Paul’s eyes, to add to the roster and the de-facto threat is, in fact, real, these teams would well be positioned to make a run at maybe the greatest player to ever play in the NBA.
Cleveland Cavaliers
His hometown team and the franchise to which he delivered their first and only championship. Immediate speculation would be that James could potentially want to finish his illustrious career back home in Cleveland.
It remains to be seen if that’s a realistic desire for James, whose wife Savannah and two kids still live in the Los Angeles area. However, his mother, Gloria James, reportedly lives in Media, Ohio, which potentially could prove to be a factor in the decision.
Living situation and personal life aside, the Cavaliers are in precisely the sort of position that he and Paul would be looking for.
Coming off a 64-win regular season that featured Evan Mobley as the NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Kenny Atkinson as the NBA Coach of the Year, Cleveland is in a prime position to make a run in the weakened Eastern Conference. Cleveland succumbed largely due to injuries in their 2025 NBA playoff run that ended in the second round.
That group features a top four of point guard Darius Garland, shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, power forward Mobley, and center Jarrett Allen. Over the past couple of seasons, Garland and Allen’s names have been floated as potential trade pieces.
In a deal for a 40-year-old who will be 41 by the time the 2026 NBA playoffs come around, receiving either Garland or Allen — or both — combined with draft picks could be enough for the trade to benefit both sides.
The Cavaliers would be adding one of the best wing players in the game regardless of age. The Lakers would get either a rim-running center to pair with Luka Dončić or a running mate in Garland, similar to the role that Kyrie Irving played with Dončić on the Dallas Mavericks.
If Cleveland tops James’ list of trade destinations, then there’s a trade that would benefit both sides and could heighten the possibility of him again donning a Cavaliers uniform.
Golden State Warriors
Though the Golden State Warriors just added former Miami Heat All-Star forward Jimmy Butler III at last season’s NBA Trade Deadline, they may not be done making moves and could make another swing for the fences.
Regarding James on the Warriors, the idea was on the table during the 2023-24 season, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski, who wrote a story on the near bombshell deal.
Though it fizzled out, and both teams made sizable trades within the next year (the Warriors for Butler and the Lakers for Dončić), the seed has already been planted. Consider James and Stephen Curry’s longtime respect for one another and their run to the gold medal together at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and the two would form a scary duo.
Golden State has some enticing trade pieces as well. Jonathan Kuminga, 22, has star potential but didn’t mesh with the roster and looks to be on the market. Moses Moody, 23, could give the Lakers some wing shooting and defense around Dončić.
Add in draft picks and a sign-and-trade of Kuminga’s contract, which would help match the contracts up, and it’s another deal that could be struck that benefits both sides.
Going to the Warriors would allow James to stay in California while forming an imposing, experienced quartet of himself, Curry, Butler and Draymond Green — immediately making them title contenders.
San Antonio Spurs
When the San Antonio Spurs used the No. 2 overall pick and drafted Rutgers point guard Dylan Harper, it signaled that the franchise is just fine in adding players on phenom center Victor Wembanyama’s timeline.
The 7’5″ Frenchman is just 21 years old but already showing superstar flashes, prompting talks of the Spurs pushing their chips in to acquire another superstar.
Instead, they held the pick and took the 19-year-old Harper. While it was a display of patience, what would the front office do if James requested a trade and pointed to San Antonio as his top destination — presumably to play alongside Wembanyama?
That could change things quickly. Not only would the James, Wembanyama, Harper, 2024 Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and point guard De’Aaron Fox lineup (if Fox isn’t included in the deal) a real contender, but it’d give Wembanyama a blueprint of success in the league as he’d be around James every day.
If the asking price isn’t too much, such as young players off the bench and draft picks, then the Spurs could fork over enough of a deal to satisfy both the Lakers and James.
Miami Heat
Another destination that would be another tenure where James had great success in his four seasons from 2010-14 in Miami. It could be argued that those were his formative years as he suffered heartbreak and humiliation in the 2011 NBA Finals before winning back-to-back in 2012 and 2013.
Though the Miami Heat were swept in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs by the Cavaliers, they have a nice duo in guard Tyler Herro and big man Bam Adebayo. Where they’re lacking is on the wing as they struggled to get production from that spot once Butler was traded away.
Enter James, who would get to live in Miami and be coached by championship-winning head coach Erik Spoelstra once again. He’d give them that wing scorer and creator.
The Eastern Conference is significantly weaker and more wide open than in past years. With James, Herro, and Adebayo running the show minus several young players and future draft picks sent back to the Lakers in the trade, they could potentially be a real factor in the playoffs.
Denver Nuggets
Similar to the Spurs’ situation, James’ joining the Denver Nuggets would be solely about playing with all-world center and three-time MVP Nikola Jokić.
The Nuggets have struggled since their 2023 title run, failing to return to the Western Conference Finals. Much of that has been due to a lack of offensive production on the wing outside of power forward Aaron Gordon. Michael Porter Jr. is a nice piece, but he can’t do much with the ball and needs others to find him for open looks.
Porter Jr. would likely be included in the deal for James due to his large salary of $38 million next season, along with another bench player. Adding James would immediately raise Denver’s ceiling on both ends of the floor.
Having one supercomputer of a decision-maker on the floor in Jokić has led the Nuggets to a championship and several deep playoff runs. Just imagine what the two would do with James in the fold as well.
Other Potential Suitors
While it’s unknown at the moment and will be until James formally releases a wish list of top destinations, if he does at all, several teams outside of those five deserve to be mentioned.
With an ascending superstar in Anthony Edwards and having fallen in the Western Conference Finals each of the past two seasons, the Minnesota Timberwolves were reportedly ready to trade for Kevin Durant before he shot it down. They may still be on the lookout for another top-tier star to pair with Edwards.
The team that got Durant, the Houston Rockets, gave up minimal young talent and could possibly put together the best trade package for James. The Oklahoma City Thunder, fresh off winning the NBA championship, have all the future draft picks in the world that the Lakers could want.
But would they add a player to a young, now championship-experienced roster?
It remains to be seen, much like if James even decides to request a trade. But if he does, then there will be many potential suitors vying for his talent.
