The Los Angeles Lakers are on the brink of elimination in their first-round playoff series against the Denver Nuggets. At 39 years old, LeBron James needs to consider a new destination in free agency this summer if he wants to keep his championship window open, and joining Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving on the Dallas Mavericks would make a lot of sense.
The Dallas Mavericks and the Los Angeles Lakers still have some work to do in the NBA playoffs before they can start thinking about the offseason, but it’s easy to envision a big shakeup happening this summer if things keep trending the way they have been.
Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving’s Mavs are currently tied with the Los Angeles Clippers at 2-2 in their first-round series with a pivotal Game 5 coming up on Wednesday night.
Meanwhile, LeBron James’ Lakers avoided a sweep at the hands of the defending champion Denver Nuggets, but they face elimination again on Tuesday night while being down 3-1.
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If James has learned anything over these last two postseasons, it’s that he’s going to have to change teams if he wants to extend his championship window.
Although he’s 39 years old, James still appears to have a lot left in the tank, but the days of him being the best player on a true title-contending team might be over.
James loves playing for the Lakers and being around his family in L.A., but if adding another championship ring to his resume means something to him, he will at least have to consider taking a step back and joining a team where he’d be the second or third guy.
Given his love and admiration for Doncic, Irving, who he won a title with as a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016, and Mavs head coach Jason Kidd, James finding a way to sign with Dallas in free agency this summer would make sense.
James has a player option with the Lakers worth $51.4 million for the 2024-25 season. In theory, he could decline that option and re-sign with the Lakers on a longer deal for more money.
On the other hand, though, James is already a billionaire, and he could just as easily decline his player option and weigh his options on the free-agency market.
Irving already reached out to James last summer to gauge his interest in potentially coming to Dallas, so one has to wonder if that possibility is floating around in the back of the 21-year veteran’s mind.
The backcourt duo of Doncic and Irving has already proven to be one of the best star tandems in the NBA, so could you imagine James bringing his 25.7 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 8.3 assists on 54-percent shooting to Dallas as a third star?
“[The Mavs’ front office] asked me what I thought throughout the summertime,” Irving said last summer when he signed a three-year, $126 million contract to stay in Dallas.
“Even in our closing meetings, they just asked me questions, trying to gauge who I wanted to play with and who I saw in the market and who in these next couple of free agency classes will be available. That’s pretty interesting.”
No player has ever defeated Father Time, but James, who is already the league’s all-time leading scorer, is giving him a run for his money like no other basketball player has before.
Lessening his workload by joining Doncic and Irving as a third star could help extend James’ already unprecedented prime for at least another season or two.
It could also be the move that puts the Mavs over the hump when it comes to being a true title contender, even if it’s a short-lived window.
