Overall, the Cleveland Cavaliers have been disappointing to start the 2025-26 season.
Considering the Cavaliers won 64 regular-season games last year and were legitimate title contenders entering the playoffs, it wasn’t preposterous to expect the franchise to build on that success and play a similar brand of basketball this season.
While Cleveland is on a four-game winning streak and is turning the corner at the right time, the organization is missing a piece or two that could help it return to the top of the Eastern Conference.
On Tuesday, Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz crafted a massive three-team trade that would land the Cavaliers a 41-year-old franchise legend and four-time NBA champion.
“Could LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers become the latest and greatest trilogy,” Bleacher Report’s Greg Swartz wrote Tuesday. “With reports of frustration by Los Angeles Lakers governor Jeanie Buss surrounding James and his uncertain future in L.A. With free agency approaching, is a split best for everyone?”
“James didn't exactly give a glowing endorsement of finishing this season with the Lakers, either. James owns a no-trade clause, however, meaning any potential destination would need to be a championship contender and not deter from the legacy he's built.”
"Cleveland checks both these boxes.There's a way for the Cavaliers to trade for James without giving up Donovan Mitchell, Evan Mobley, or Darius Garland, the Lakers to acquire a younger All-Star forward in his place, and a third team to be compensated mightily with players, draft picks, and future salary relief. "
This is the LeBron trade that actually makes sense (LeBron, Bronny, and Adou Thiero to the Cavaliers, Lauri Markkanen and Jarrett Allen to the Los Angeles Lakers, and De’Andre Hunter, Max Strus, Sam Merrill, Lonzo Ball, Gabe Vincent, and two future first-round picks to the Utah Jazz.
James returning to Cleveland would be a storybook ending to an amazing two-decade-long career.
Chances are, James would only spend a year or two with the Cavaliers before retiring, allowing him to attempt a late championship run with the franchise that selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft.
James was largely responsible for helping the Cavaliers secure their first-ever championship in 2016, which should give the organization's fan base hope that he can work his magic again if a blockbuster trade comes to fruition.
Needless to say, the Cavaliers are a realistic suitor for arguably the best player of all time.
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