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The hottest NBA rumor this week concerns Kyrie Irving‘s desire for LeBron James to join him on the Dallas Mavericks. Irving has reportedly reached out to the Los Angeles Lakers star to see if he’d be interested in being traded to the Big D. The report has people breathlessly talking and breaking down the potential move. But they’re all missing the biggest issue here: the Mavericks have nothing desirable to offer the Lakers in a trade.
Unless Mark Cuban & Co. are going to send Luka Doncic to LA, there isn’t anyone on the Mavs’ roster who would appeal to Rob Pelinka and the Lakers’ brass. Dallas owns its own first-round picks for the foreseeable future, but those would be late-round picks if Doncic, Irving and James were playing together. Not that appealing, even for the pick-starved Lakers.
So, outside of Doncic, who is under contract for the Mavs next season? Tim Hardaway Jr. is set to make $17.9 million and is due $16.1 million for 2024-25. He scored 14.4 points per game during the 2022-23 campaign, so he’s not exactly trade centerpiece material.
What about Davis Bertans? He’s making $17 million next season after playing 10.9 minutes per game this year.
Maxi Kleber will be in the first season of a three-year, $33 million extension. He averaged 5.9 points per game this season.
Other than those guys the Mavs have JaVale McGee, Josh Green and Jaden Hardy. That’s it. Unless you count Reggie Bullock‘s partially-guaranteed contract, of course. Can’t forget that cornerstone asset.
Sure, the idea of Luka, LeBron and Kyrie playing for Mark Cuban sounds really fun. But the idea has absolutely no connection to reality.
