The Dallas Mavericks have had one of the most tumultuous years in recent NBA history.
From losing the 2024 NBA Finals, to inexplicably trading international superstar Luka Doncic, and finally landing the No. 1 overall pick in the draft lottery and selecting collegiate sensation Cooper Flagg, it's been a series of ups and downs unlike anything we've ever seen.
Even this Summer, there were rumblings that the disgruntled Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James was interested in joining Dallas, considering all the veteran talent they have on the roster. Nothing ever came to fruition on that front, but even if it had, one former NBA player says it never would've worked out between James and the Mavericks.
Kendrick Perkins Says LeBron and the Mavericks Would've Been 'Doomed From the Start'
Kendrick Perkins, current NBA analyst for ESPN and a former teammate of James during two separate stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers, says a Mavericks pairing would never have worked, thanks to another former teammate, Kyrie Irving, already in Dallas.
James and Irving were an incredible duo in Cleveland, winning one championship and appearing in three straight NBA Finals. They famously broke up during the Summer of 2017 when Irving wanted the chance to lead his own team and demanded a trade away from the Cavaliers. Perkins cited this as the reason a reunion would've died on the vine.
"He idolized and looked up to Kob so much that he actually wouldn’t give Bron a chance to be that big brother figure,” Perkins said on the Road Trippin' podcast. “Even when y’all won it, I wasn’t there, but I’m just keeping it real. Kyrie never really looked at Bron as that big brother. Kob was that big brother to Kyrie."
Regardless of James and Irving's relationship, it makes sense why LeBron was rumored to be interested in joining the Mavericks.
James' former Laker teammate, Anthony Davis, is already in Dallas thanks to the Doncic trade, and they have other championship-caliber veterans in Klay Thompson, P.J. Washington, Daniel Gafford, and, of course, Irving.
The more likely reason a trade never materialized is that no NBA team is interested in trading premier assets for a 40-year-old star. As great as James still is, he year-to-year when it comes to retirement, and acquiring him is no guarantee he'll be around for more than one season.