Goodbye, LeBron?! Four NBA mega-trades we want to see 

NBA trade season officially opened last week with the Golden State Warriors acquiring the ever-pesky (and talented) Dennis Schröder from the Brooklyn Nets. It was a nice start to what we hope will be a busy trade deadline in an extremely competitive league.

Here are four blockbuster trades that we’d love to see. All these deals work on ESPN’s NBA Trade Machine. 

(Note: All records and statistics are through Thursday’s games.)

1. A three-way jawdropper among Western Conference foes

Clippers get: LeBron James, Bronny James

Rockets get: Kawhi Leonard

Lakers get: Fred VanVleet, 2025 first-round pick (Rockets), 2030 lottery-protected first-round pick (Clippers)

In a single game or series, James is still a superstar capable of guiding a contender to victory. The problem is that James is really playing this season on cruise control, and his Lakers teammates seem to feed off his energy (or lack thereof), making them a play-In-caliber team at best. It’s time for Los Angeles (15-12) to deal the league’s all-time leading scorer before the trade deadline (Feb. 6, 3 p.m. ET).

James seems content riding out the rest of his career in Los Angeles, but we’d like to see how he’d do with L.A.’s other team, the Clippers (16-12), playing for his favorite coach (Ty Lue) on a team full of two-way grinders and a great offensive creator (James Harden). “The Beard” would allow James to coast for the first half of the year and then ramp up for the playoffs, when the Clippers would be a sneaky contender in a loaded West.

This deal would also allow the Lakers to complete their transition to the Anthony Davis era. Plus, they’d land a competent point guard and future first-round picks.

Meanwhile, the Rockets (18-9) would get a player in Leonard who, if he can stay healthy for a couple of months in the spring, will take them from a cute story to a serious threat in the West. Imagine the defensive hell Rockets defensive-minded head coach Ime Udoka could unleash with Leonard and the “Terror Twins,” Amen Thompson and Tari Eason.

2. Jimmy Butler, De’Aaron Fox headline a league-altering blockbuster

Warriors get: Jimmy Butler

Heat get: De’Aaron Fox, Kevin Huerter

Kings get: Jonathan Kuminga, Jaimie Jacquez Jr., Dennis Schröder, Andrew Wiggins, Gui Santos, 2026 first-round pick (Warriors), 2029 first-round pick (Heat), 2031 first-round pick (Heat)

After firing out of the gates, the Warriors (14-12) have crashed. Meanwhile, the Jimmy Butler-Miami Heat divorce seems imminent and De’Aaron Fox (26.2 PPG) seems to be growing frustrated with the losing in Sacramento (13-15). Let’s make a deal that solves each team’s woes.

Butler (19.4 PPG) would be the second star and late-game creator the Warriors have desperately needed since their championship in 2022. Golden State must be willing to sign him to a big deal this summer, but it can worry about that later. The Warriors can’t waste the end of Steph Curry’s prime when their franchise is valued at over $9B! 

The Heat (13-11) get a young star point guard who fits like a glove with Heat culture and roster. And the Kings nab two interesting young players in Kuminga and Jacquez and get three unprotected draft picks who could be lottery or better if things go south in the Bay or South Beach.

Note: The Warriors would need to wait two months before including Schröder in this deal because they only recently acquired him.

3. Oklahoma City makes a championship push

Thunder get: Cameron Johnson

Nets get: Aaron Wiggins, Ousmane Dieng, Nikola Topić

The Thunder (21-5) are one of the best teams in the NBA and have about as perfect a roster a team can build in today’s league. That said, if you watched the Emirates NBA Cup championship game, two of their exploitable flaws were exposed: They are a good but not great three-point shooting team and don’t have a lot of defensive options against a player such as Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo. So let’s insert Johnson.

A 6-foot-8 forward, Johnson is a stellar shooter (43.1 percent from three on 7.6 attempts per game) and is taller and rangier than OKC’s other options that it threw on Giannis (Alex Caruso and Lu Dort).

In return for dealing one of the top three-and-D wings in the league, the Nets (11-16) get three enticing prospects, including two recent first-round picks in Dieng and Topić. OKC could even sweeten the pot by including one of its future first-rounders.

4. Memphis aims to take its offense to a new level

Grizzlies get: Brandon Ingram

Pelicans get: Marcus Smart, Brandon Clarke, 2027 first-round pick

The Grizzlies (19-9) are second behind the Thunder in the Western Conference and one of the league’s more balanced teams. The one thing they seem to be missing is a small forward. In fact, they’re devoid of small forwards if you go by their official positions. 

This isn’t much of an issue during the regular season, but rangy small forwards are paramount for playoff success. And New Orleans’ Ingram (22.2 PPG), who is out with an ankle injury but expected to return later this season, is waiting to be picked up on a discount by a contender. Ingram is the type of offensive creator and tough shotmaker who would mesh well with Memphis, especially when Ja Morant needs a break during the playoffs.

In our scenario, the Pelicans — who apparently have been trying to deal Ingram since the summer — get a first-round pick and two veterans who they can deal to contenders for assets.