There is league-wide belief that LeBron James would consider returning to Cleveland if Kyrie Irving joined him, but major hurdles remain. The Mavericks are not looking to trade Irving, while the Cavaliers are happy with James Harden.
There is a perception around the NBA that LeBron James would consider a return to Cleveland if Kyrie Irving joins him, but several key factors make it unlikely.
James Harden
Position SG, PG
Age 36
Height 196 cm
Weight 100 kg
Birth place Los Angeles, United States of America
According to Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo! Sports, the Dallas Mavericks are not interested in trading Irving, while the Cavaliers themselves prefer to have James Harden.
O'Connor's reporting states: "The belief around the league is that LeBron would be more likely to choose the Cavaliers if the front office could replace Harden with Irving. The 2016 reunion would be a lovely story. But it has two problems: Problem No. 1: The Mavericks don’t want to trade Irving.
"Problem No. 2: The Cavaliers are happy with Harden."
LeBron James wants Kyrie Irving over James Harden in Cavs?
The Cleveland Cavaliers are one of the top suitors for LeBron James. As such, considering this latest update, both sides are undeniably facing issues about hammering out a reunion.
After not playing the entire 2025-26 NBA season amid ACL tear recovery, Kyrie Irving has generated a lot of hype from the Dallas Mavericks to finally get paired with reigning Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg next year. Under the new leadership of Dusty May, the Mavs are looking forward to seeing the duo lead the franchise, with Irving being made unavailable in trade talks.
As such, Irving has not played more than 65 games since 2018-19. With James Harden being one of the most durable stars and serving as the key driving force of their first Conference Finals appearance since 2018 upon his trade deadline arrival from last season, the Cavaliers will certainly have more consideration for the former NBA MVP.
While many are already fantasizing about LeBron coming home to Cleveland for the second time to spend the final years of his career, there has been reported skepticism around the league already about the future Hall of Famer's on-court pairing with Harden out of their clashing ball-dominant playstyles.
Although James may prefer teaming up with Irving over Harden because of their past success and bond from Cleveland’s historic 2016 championship run, the Cavaliers face major decisions if they hope to bring back their franchise icon.
[
Subscribe to BN+ and get access to exclusive content.](https://basketnews.com/plus?utm_source=basketnews_com&utm_medium=bn_plus&utm_id=UA-259273-31&utm_campaign=banners_free_content_for_not_members_bottom_2)
If you like our content, please and add us as your preferred source. It helps us a lot, and we are committed to delivering you the very latest basketball news.