The Los Angeles Lakers appear to have been passive aggressively put on notice by LeBron James ahead of NBA free agency. James’ agent Rich Paul made a public statement about the superstar’s future, prompting plenty of trade rumors.
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons proposed a wild three-team trade involving the Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Utah Jazz. James and his son Bronny James have a bit of a homecoming by being traded back to Cleveland as part of the deal.
“LeBron and his son go to Cleveland,” the analyst detailed in a June 29, 2025 episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast.” “Utah gets Darius Garland and Rui Hachimura. The Lakers get (Walker) Kessler, Lonzo Ball, Jordan Clarkson, and John Collins. Utah has to throw (in) a pick or two, has to sprinkle some picks around because ultimately they’re getting Darius Garland.
“I just am on the record. I don’t think Cleveland should trade Darius Garland, but I’m just saying I wonder if those types of deals are being talked about. The whole reason that I’m talking about this is I think this is going to be really hard now that he’s opted in for any other outcome than he’s just on the team doing the, ‘I don’t know, we’ll see what they do. I’m monitoring it.'”
Trading LeBron James Would Be a Difficult Sell to the Lakers Fan Base
The early indications are James’ trade value is going to be difficult to project. James’ latest comments via his agent show the Lakers must now make building around Luka Doncic the top priority.
Now that LeBron James has opted in for $52.6 million with the Lakers, @BillSimmons wonders if this’ll make it harder for L.A. to further build their roster.
Of course, he was ready with a fake trade.😂
“… They’re in Luka mode now for the next 10 years,” Simmons added. “How do we build around Luka? It’s really awkward. I’m surprised it’s not a bigger story. I think this is pretty strange.”
While the package of Kessler, Ball, Clarkson and Collins, could be intriguing for the Lakers’ future, it is hard to argue that this group of players equals James’ production.
The Wild Proposed Trade Reunites Lonzo Ball With the Lakers
Collins is entering in the final season of a five-year, $125 million contract. The mock trade would reunite Ball with the team that selected the guard with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft.
Ball is on a two-year, $20 million deal as the guard looks to have better fortune with staying on the court and avoiding injuries.
Kessler is on a four-year, $13 million deal with the Jazz, and it appears to be an annual tradition for the big man to be linked to the Lakers in trade rumors. Clarkson is on a two-year, $28 million deal with Utah.
The NBA Is Surprised By LeBron James’ Statement About His Future
It remains to be seen if a team will make a run at James. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the NBA was caught by surprise by James’ statement about his future.
“I identified the handful of teams that I could see LeBron trying to be traded to,” Windhorst said, per HoopsHype. “And I’m not going to talk about which teams I talked to, but I did not find a team that was prepared for this.
“In other words, like all of them that I talked to, I didn’t talk to 29 teams, I talked to a handful of teams, and they were all caught flat-footed by this. And so I guess they could be acting.”
