The Los Angeles Lakers would be interested in a LeBron James, Jarrett Allen sign-and-trade deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
According to Brian Windhorst of ESPN, the Los Angeles Lakers would be interested in a LeBron James, Jarrett Allen sign-and-trade deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
LeBron is a free agent for the first time since 2018. He's been linked to a return to the Cavaliers, but Cleveland can only pay the NBA legend around $3 million right now.
A sign-and-trade deal would help LeBron get the money he wants from the Cavaliers, while the Lakers would acquire a center (Allen) for Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves.
Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report actually created a sign-and-trade idea between the Cavaliers and Lakers a couple of weeks ago involving LeBron and Allen.
Here was Pincus' mock trade:
Cavaliers receive: LeBron James, Bronny James, Deandre Ayton, Jake LaRavia, Dalton Knecht, $28 million trade exception
Lakers receive: Jarrett Allen, Dennis Schröder, Dean Wade, Sam Merrill
If LeBron doesn't retire from the NBA this summer, most people believe the NBA icon will either re-sign with the Lakers or return to the Cavaliers for a third and final stint.
Pincus' trade idea has LeBron and Bronny going home to play with Donovan Mitchell, James Harden and Evan Mobley and Allen moving to the Lakers to play with Doncic and Reaves.
As everyone knows, LeBron is the best player in Cavaliers franchise history. In two stints with Cleveland, LeBron won two MVPs and one Finals MVP and made 10 All-Star teams.
LeBron last played for Cleveland during the 2017-18 season. The Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors in the 2018 NBA Finals and LeBron left home for the Lakers in free agency shortly after.
Arguably the greatest player in NBA history, LeBron is a four-time MVP, four-time champion and four-time Finals MVP. He is the NBA's all-time leader in points, field goals, games, minutes and wins.
The Cavaliers got swept by the New York Knicks in the 2026 conference finals. They clearly need LeBron to reach the promised land again. A potential starting lineup of Harden, Mitchell, LeBron, Mobley and Ayton (based on Pincus' trade idea) looks really, really dangerous on paper.
For the Lakers this past season, LeBron averaged 20.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game. He's still an elite offensive weapon despite being the oldest active player in the NBA.
It would be a great story for LeBron to end his historic NBA career in Cleveland with his son (Bronny). Let's see if it happens.
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