Old Zhan and Damei reunited? A three-party trading plan was born! If the four top picks join forces, the team will be invincible

During this period, there have been many different rumors about James' trading. American journalist Brandon exposed four teams that asked James for a price, namely the Mavericks, Warriors, Cavaliers and Clippers. It is understandable that the Cavaliers and the Warriors are interested in James. After all, the current Cavaliers have low ceilings and unreasonable lineup structure. They just happen to have the conditions to get James' chips, which is to pay Garland and Allen. In addition, as James' old club, James's return to his roots is indeed a good choice. The Warriors got James, for nothing else, just to allow Zhan Ku, two top superstars to join forces. Although the Warriors' lineup is unlikely to compete for the championship, it can at least increase the popularity and traffic, and home tickets can be sold at a good price.

And when the Clippers and the Mavericks asked for the price, they were a little quarrel. The Clippers' current lineup is very reasonable and there are no conditions to match the contract to get James. It is estimated that before Powell was traded, the Clippers considered the possibility of James joining. The Mavericks on the other side just dug up from the Lakers' thick eyebrows this year, and wanting to get James again is a bit weird. They have changed their name to the Dallas Lakers. The Mavericks already have Christie and Russell, who are also famous people of the Lakers. In the words of Meiji, although the outside world is skeptical about whether James will be really traded, it is interesting to analyze these hypothetical scenarios in depth. No matter whether he is reasonable or not, let’s talk about it first. Sports Illustrated has formulated a three-party trading plan for the Lakers, Mavericks and Jazz. The details of this three-party transaction plan are: The Mavericks get James. The Lakers won Daniel Gafford, Klay Thompson, PJ Washington, Najib Marshall, Lee Kyle, and the 2029 first-round draft pick (myself, from the Mavericks). The Jazz received Jared Vanderbilt, a 2030 second-round draft pick (from the Mavericks), and a 32nd-round draft pick (from the Mavericks). In this way, James can reunite with Thick Brows, and the Mavericks' four-no.com combination was born, James + Thick Brows + Irving + Flagg. In NBA history, the last four-leading combination may also be traced back to the Lakers in the 1980s. Magic Johnson, Jabbar, James Worthy and Michael Thompson joined hands to help the Lakers win a two-game championship.

"Sports Illustrated" stated that once James joins the Mavericks, the Mavericks will form a super strong team, with the starting core four No. 1 picks + Lively's paper strength, and they may choose to "do their best" and make themselves immediately join the championship ranks. With Flag, the Mavericks don’t have to worry about their future problems. Even the three old-school superstars, James, Davis and Irving, have reached the final stage of their careers. After they choose to leave Dallas, the team still has enough resources to focus on Flag and build another team that is competitive enough. In the second game of the summer league, Flag has proved himself that this year's No. 1 pick is worthy of his name. He scored 31 points and 4 rebounds, showing his all-round ability, and his offensive and defensive talents are top in the league.

And for the Lakers, under this framework, the Lakers will get several powerful players to strengthen the rotation, all with Doncic's experience in playing side by side. While this reward will erode their cap space plan for 2027, Gafford is the only player with a contract that is still on the list of the season and should be easily handled with its existing contract. The Lakers hope to build a system that is completely dominated by Doncic and takes it as the core. This is the most favorable choice for them. Gafford will greatly improve the team's frontcourt defense and athletic capabilities. Get back the 2029 first-round pick given away when Doncic was initially traded, allowing the team to use it as a bargaining chip in other trades, or choose to retain, in the hope of adding a young rotation player.

At the same time, Marshall added some youthful vitality and agility to the team's wings. Thompson and Lee Kyle are experienced veterans, and Washington is at least a very qualified rotation player in the playoff level team. As long as James is willing to leave, the Lakers are obviously very willing to execute the deal. In any case, the cooperation node between James and the Lakers seems to be coming to an end. Even if it will not be traded next season, by the summer of 2026, James is likely to leave the Lakers as a free agent. To be honest, James' career is already successful enough. He will never be like Westbrook, who can calmly accept the reality that his salary declines at the end of his career and his role positioning has changed. I wonder how many years will James play in the league?