Trade & FA 2025-26: Free Agency Starts 5pm CST/6pm EST

[KillerLeft]

A note for those who like reading tea leaves from puzzling choices --

A year ago, LBJ signed a 1+1, which allowed him to only commit for 1 year, but have the financial security of another year in case bad stuff happens. If he wants stay in LA, he opts out, and then does another 1+1. Year at a time.

But instead he took the option. Playing with no security blanket. Why? If he likes LA, first opting out gives him more security while he plays again for a year. If he wants out of LA, opting out lets him go where he wants, right? So, either way, how in the world does opting IN make any sense at all???

But here's the thing. Oddly enough, opting IN makes a move to another team easier, because no one has cap room to sign him anyhow. And if he was a FA, while he can still obviously move via s-n-t, those have rules and limits and some teams would be ineligible to trade for him. Opting IN, oddly enough, gave him the most FLEXIBLE avenue to get to a different team of his own choosing. And he knows LA would almost certainly cater to him in getting where he might want to go, just as if he was a FA needing a s-n-t deal, if he wants to be moved.

If we factor in all that, does that change our thinking at all? And is DAL with both AD and Kyrie here, and the young prodigy Flagg, very near the top of his wish list? At first. LBJ to DAL feels very absurd, but looking at the whole picture, maybe not so absurd.

It feels to me like we may be very close to "be careful what you wish for" territory. Right?

My prediction is that he plays one more year in LA before retiring. But, if we play this hypothetical out, I am 100% in on LeBron coming here, as long as the trade isn’t ridiculous. No outgoing picks and no outgoing rotation players other than Gafford along with Thompson or PJW. 

Frankly, I have a hard time envisioning a trade that I’d like, even with the Lakers trying to do LeBron a favor. However, the idea of that he’d play here for a year or two is awesome.