Cleveland Cavaliers Trade Rumors: LeBron James Will Not Waive No-Trade Clause

GettyImages-912430850 — LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers leaves the floor after a 125-114 loss to the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on January 30, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

After three straight appearances in the NBA Finals (including a thrilling win in 2016), the Cleveland Cavaliers are in the-sky-is-falling mode. Ineffective players on bad contracts have contributed to the Cavs sitting in third place in the East, with one of the league’s worst defenses. Superstar LeBron James is in the midst of an outstanding statistical season, but questions about his future linger.

According to Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports, one thing is certain: James will not allow the Cavs to trade him before Thursday’s trade deadline. His contract has a no-trade clause, which means he cannot be traded unless he waives it. Apparently, that will not happen.

Sources: As NBA teams do due diligence on his no-trade clause and potential of him dropping it, LeBron James is determined to see year through in Cleveland, focused on season and will not waive the clause.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 6, 2018

There never appeared to be any serious consideration of dealing away James mid-season, and Charania’s report confirmed that. Cleveland has gotten over regular season doldrums before; the 2014-15 squad was hovering around .500 midway through the season before a series of smart trades turned them into a Finals team. It is possible James feels the same thing can happen this year.

However, there are concerns about what Cleveland has to offer in order to get younger, more consistent players to help with a postseason push. Their major bargaining chip to potentially get All-Star talent and maybe, just maybe keep LeBron around is a lottery pick belonging to the Brooklyn Nets. The Cavs got the pick in the Kyrie Irving trade that made the Celtics their top competition in the East.

The Cavs also need to offload the contracts of J.R. Smith and Tristan Thompson, which has reportedly proven difficult. Cleveland reportedly offered the two as a package deal to get DeAndre Jordan from the Clippers, but the Clippers may not bite until the Nets pick is included. There was also recent talk of dumping Iman Shumpert and Channing Frye in exchange for Kings point guard George Hill, but that discussion has stalled for the moment.

Regardless, if LeBron James eventually goes to the Lakers, Warriors or anywhere else, it will be in the offseason, rather than as part of a mid-season trade.