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Rumors have been swirling around LeBron James since Rich Paul hinted at the ‘King' being traded more than a week ago, but Brian Windhorst, who has covered James for a long time, is effectively ruling out another Cleveland Cavaliers reunion.
James, a native of Akron, Ohio, was drafted by the Cavs in 2003 and led the franchise to its first and, to date, only NBA championship in 2016. He played in Cleveland from 2003 to 2010, as well as 2014 to 2018, leaving the second time to sign with the Los Angeles Lakers, with whom he won a title in 2020 but has since failed to achieve similar success.
After James exercised his $52.6 million player option for next season, his agent, Paul, hinted that James could be unhappy with the Lakers' purported shift toward building for the future with Luka Doncic, not the present. That has, naturally, led some to believe he could make his second return to the Cavs.
While James could be traded this offseason — some insiders have expressed their skepticism — Windhorst is pretty sure it won't be to Cleveland.
“And if the Lakers are trading LeBron James, they're going to want really good stuff for it,” Windhorst said on 850 ESPN Cleveland. “With a straight face, I can't say that it's impossible, but you have to understand, they can't feasibly trade for him.”
"With a straight face, I can't say that it's impossible, but you have to understand, they can't feasibly trade for him" – @WindhorstESPN on if the Cavs would trade for LeBron James. pic.twitter.com/odch1XhV3G
— ESPN Cleveland (@ESPNCleveland) July 8, 2025
James is guaranteed all of his $52.6 million salary next season, making him one of the 15 highest-paid players in the league. And while that is not necessarily a complete roadblock — Kevin Durant ($54.7 million) was dealt to the Houston Rockets this summer — it does make it difficult for both the Lakers and whoever would acquire James.
The Cavaliers, in particular, would have a hard time swinging the trade.
According to Spotrac, they are currently $93.9 million over the salary cap, $37.1 million into the luxury tax, and $19.7 million over the second apron. The latter is the biggest issue; to even acquire James as a second-apron team, they would have to take in no more salary than they send out, but they have the added restriction of not being able to trade multiple players at once. Since no one on the Cavs makes as much as or more than James, they would likely have to make trades before then to get under the second apron, which would allow them to package players such as, for example, Darius Garland and De'Andre Hunter to legally absorb James' salary.
James, 40, is the oldest active player in the NBA, and when he next steps on the court — for whatever team — he will become the first player in league history to play 23 or more seasons.
