NBA rumor: Windhorst doesn t believe in the Cavaliers deal with Lakers LeBron James

NBA insider Brian Windhorst doesn't believe that the Cavaliers and Lakers can really reach a deal for LeBron James.

Ritchie Paul hinted more than a week ago that "King" LeBron James would be traded, but Brian Windhorst, who long-time James-profile, actually ruled out the possibility of the Cleveland Cavaliers reunited again.

James was born in Akron, Ohio, and was selected by the Cavaliers in 2003 and led the team to the first and only NBA championship in team history in 2016. He played for the Cleveland Cavaliers from 2003 to 2010 and 2014 to 2018. He joined the Los Angeles Lakers after leaving the Cavaliers for the second time and won the championship with the team in 2020, but has not achieved similar success since then.

After James exercised his $52.6 million player option next season, his agent Paul hinted that James may be upset with what the Lakers called “building the future with Luca Doncic, not the present” transformation. This naturally led some people to believe that he might return to the Cavaliers for a second time.

While James may be traded in the offseason – some insiders doubt it – Windhorst is very sure he won’t go to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

"If the Lakers were going to trade LeBron James, they would definitely want a very good return," Windhorst said on the 850 ESPN Cleveland Channel. "I'm serious, I can't say it's impossible, but you have to understand that they can't get him with a trade."

James' $52.6 million salary is fully guaranteed next season, which makes him one of the 15 highest-paid players in the league. While that doesn’t necessarily mean a complete obstacle – Kevin Durant ($54.7 million) was traded to the Houston Rockets this summer – it does make it difficult for the Lakers and anyone who wants to get James.

Especially the Cavaliers, they have a hard time completing this deal.

According to Spotrac, their current salary cap is over $93.9 million, luxury tax is over $37.1 million, and the second-tier salary cap is over $19.7 million. The latter is the biggest problem; even if you want to get James as a second-tier team, they must not get more than they pay, but they have an additional limitation, that is, they cannot trade multiple players at the same time. Since no one on the Cavaliers can get as much or more salary as James, they will likely have to trade before that to get paid from second-tier teams so they can pack up deals with players like Dalius Garland and DeAndre Hunter to legally absorb James’ salary.

40-year-old James is the oldest of NBA active players, and when he set foot on the field again - no matter which team he plays for - he will become the first player in league history to play for 23 seasons or more.