As the wait for LeBron James to sign continues, one option he hoped to make happen has reportedly come to light.
Per ESPN’s Vincent Goodwill, James “had been angling” for a scenario in which the Cleveland Cavaliers worked out a trade for Kyrie Irving.
However, Goodwill noted the Dallas Mavericks have shown “no interest” in trading Irving and he is “believed to be comfortable” in Dallas.
On the latest episode of The Hoop Collective Podcast (starts at 5:50 mark), ESPN’s Brian Windhorst explained “nobody” has any idea where or when James is eventually going to sign:
“LeBron is not waiting because of Adam Silver saying that [about the schedule.] Nobody knows what LeBron’s doing. There’s an incredible amount of crap out there. Nobody knows. Not even people close to him know. He’s making up his own mind.”
There has been speculation in recent days that one potential reason James has been waiting is to see if a team could acquire either Irving or Anthony Davis.
It doesn’t seem like Irving or Davis is on the trade block right now. The Washington Wizards have given no indication they want to trade Davis, who is expected to receive an extension offer when he becomes eligible on Aug. 6.
ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Thursday that James “isn’t waiting for another domino” to fall, indicating he is simply taking his time to make what he feels will be the best decision for him to play in during the 2026-27 season.
James is believed to be primarily focused on the Cavaliers, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers in free agency.
The idea of James and Irving playing together again is one that both players have talked about since they broke up in 2017 when the Cavs traded Irving to the Boston Celtics.
James said one year after the trade that he “never felt like I didn’t want to play with” Irving. In the summer of 2023, Irving reportedly reached out to James to gauge his interest in joining him in Dallas.
James and Irving played three seasons together with the Cavs from 2014 to ’17. They reached the NBA Finals in all three years, winning the championship during the 2015-16 season.
