After getting knocked out by the Denver Nuggets in the Western Conference Finals, 38-year-old LeBron James was initially linked with retirement. However, recent reports claim that Kyrie Irving has asked the Dallas Mavericks to look into signing James. James came within a reasonable distance of joining the Mavericks back in 2010, when he first left the Cleveland Cavaliers, according to ESPN.
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Eventually signing a 6-year, $110,000,000 deal with the Miami Heat, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tried convincing James over text messages to join his team instead. Cuban eventually made the text exchanges public, something which might play a role in James’ decision over his future.
LeBron James called Mark Cuban sly for making text exchange public
Cuban already had the likes of Jason Kidd and Dirk Nowitzki playing for the Mavs. Adding a 25-year-old LeBron James would have been huge, and would have changed the landscape of the NBA.
Cuban, desperate to change LeBron’s mind, had told him that it always took a player to join a good team to win championships. The Miami Heat had stripped down their roster before they signed LeBron, followed by Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. When he was unable to convince LeBron, Cuban ended up making their text exchange public in an interview with ESPN:
“Before he made his decision, what I told [James] … and what I told Maverick was no team had ever blown up their team to ground zero — well, I shouldn’t use those words — blown their team up of all of their core, and then added a couple of free agents and won a championship. It’s always taken someone to come into a good team, make it better, and put it over the top. That’s what I told him, and that’s what I told Maverick.”
James went on to win 2 back-to-back championships with the Heat in 2012 and 13. When told about Cuban’s interview, James called him sly, although he was respectful enough:
“This is definitely one of the teams I looked at, being a veteran ballclub, they got a lot of winners on their team. But you guys know where I ended up at. Mark is a very sly guy, man. He wants to win. He does what’s best for his team, and he’s very passionate about it.”
Could LeBron’s history with Mark Cuban affect potential deal?
There is little doubt that even at the age of 38 there will be more than plenty of suitors for LeBron James. Still, his history with Cuban might end up foiling a move for the second time in his career.
LeBron will need to orchestrate a buyout from his Lakers’ contract. He will then need to convince Kyrie Irving to take a pay cut alongside himself to join the Mavericks.
A potential trio of James, Irving, and Doncic does have the potential to shake things around. However, the multiple layers of complexities involved could make things difficult. Coupled with Cuban’s decision to make his chat with James public all those years ago, Kyrie Irving’s wish might be further than it seems.
