The James trade talk stemmed from a cryptic statement his agent, Rich Paul, issued on June 29 when he decided to exercise his player option for the 2025-26 campaign. That comment, at the very least, was interpreted as keeping the door open for a trade request.

Rich Paul addressed the trade rumors surrounding Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, who controls any deal due to his no-trade clause.

It doesn't take much to set fans' minds in motion these days when it comes to trade rumors. Though after the Lakers' legendary coup in landing Luka Doncic you can hardly blame them. The latest trade rumor involves Los Angeles Lakers megastar LeBron James himself.