Explosive LeBron James rumor should not phase the Rockets

The Houston Rockets made one of the biggest moves of the NBA summer by acquiring Kevin Durant. If the Mavericks acquire LeBron James, they'll give them stiff competition anyway - but Houston shouldn't worry.

This rumor has spread across the internet. LeBron James is allegedly unhappy with the Lakers, and the Mavs are seen as the frontrunners to land his services.

There's no denying that it could be a problem for the Rockets.

Rockets conference rival could get stronger

As it stands, the Rockets should be well ahead of Dallas in 2025-26.

Sure, Anthony Davis and Kyrie Irving are a formidable duo. They shouldn't have enough combined power to overcome Durant and the Rockets' remarkable depth. As each roster is currently constructed, the Rockets appear to be better on paper.

Cooper Flagg doesn't change that calculus. He should be an NBA superstar, but not yet. If Dallas are resting their 2025-26 contention hopes on a rookie, the Rockets don't need to worry about them.

Unless they acquire LeBron James, that is.

Suddenly, the Mavericks would be strong. They'd boast a genuine Big 3 in addition to their future franchise player. Dallas would arguably be in a better place than the Rockets.

Luckily, it's going to be difficult for them to get a deal done.

Rockets may not need to worry about Mavericks

A deal would be highly complicated.

If Dallas is acquiring James, they'd presumably insist on keeping Davis and Irving. There's (almost) no way they'd trade Flagg for James either. Sure, this is the organization that unfathomably traded Luka Doncic for an aging Davis and one pick. Trading the 18-year-old Flagg for a 40-year-old James would be a new level of malpractice.

So, they'd have to send the Lakers a poo-poo platter. Our own senior contributor Dan Favale wrote a proposal for Bleacher Report. Let's take a look.

This is the only viable framework for a deal. It's possible that both sides would accept it. The deal arms the Lakers with depth around Doncic, but more importantly, regaining control of their 2029 first-rounder is an opportunity they can't pass on. Meanwhile, the Mavericks get their guy.

They entirely decimate their depth in the process.

Is a trio of James, Davis, and Irving flanked by Flagg enough to beat the Rockets if they're surrounded by fringe NBAers? It's a fair question without a clear answer. Still, given James' age and Davis' injury history, this deal doesn't put the Mavericks clearly ahead of the Rockets.

It's fair to wonder whether they'd even pursue the deal.

The NBA is a wildly unpredictable place. The Mavericks could acquire James, and if their group coalesces, they could be a threat to the Rockets' place in the Western Conference hierarchy. That said, there's a wide range of things that could happen. For the time being, the Rockets don't need to worry about this any more than they need to worry about many hypotheticals:

And with the moves they made this summer, those might not be worth worrying about either.