This article was originally published on www.si.com/nba/mavericks as Shocking proposed 3-team trade sends LeBron James from Lakers to Mavericks. The Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers are notorious trade partners after the Luka Doncic-Anthony Davis swap in February. However, the two sides could combine on an even bigger deal this offseason.

The Los Angeles Lakers no longer orbit around LeBron James. That baton was passed as soon as L.A. finalized the trade that sent out James' handpicked sidekick, Anthony Davis, to acquire Luka Dončić, a 26-year-old megastar more than capable of piloting the Purple and Gold well past the LeBron era.

It was less than two weeks ago when LeBron James made the decision to opt into the final year of his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, locking in his $52.6 million salary for the 2025-26 NBA season.

Deandre Ayton and Luka Dončić were the Nos. 1 and 3 picks in the 2018 NBA draft for the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks, respectively. Now they are teammates on the Los Angeles Lakers.

Newly signed Los Angeles Lakers center Deandre Ayton used his introductory press conference on Tuesday to highlight how excited he is to join a team that features stars such as LeBron James and Luka Doncic.