For the last 48 hours or so, people across the NBA have been talking about the possibility of LeBron James asking the Los Angeles Lakers to trade him. This speculation started due to the type of language James’ agent, Rich Paul, used in a statement he gave ESPN after James exercised his player option for the 2025-26 season.

There are quite a few Lakers fans who are thrilled about the prospect of James leaving sooner than later, especially if it yields the team some assets. But working out a trade involving the future Hall of Famer won’t be easy, especially since he has a rare no-trade clause in his contract.

That no-trade clause allows him to veto any potential deals he’s involved in. It would be extremely tricky to work something out where L.A. gets enough back from another team while that other team would have enough talent around James to compete for the NBA championship right away.

According to Bobby Marks of ESPN, there is another complicating factor. He was asked on “Get Up” if there is a market for James, and he said that there isn’t.

“You know, to be sensitive to LeBron, who’s considered one of the greatest of all time, there isn’t, and here’s why, Dan,” Marks replied. “He’s making $53 million, he’s in his last year of his contract, he’s 40 years old, and I talked to numerous teams yesterday, and asked that same question, would you give up, basically, the farm, and basically you’d have to give up four or five players to go get LeBron James for one year, and the unanimous answer was, no, they wouldn’t.”

James is going into the final year of his contract, and he will make $52.6 million. It is very understandable that another team wouldn’t want to give up so many assets for an aging, high-maintenance superstar who, by the way, could leave as a free agent next summer if things don’t work out.

Depending on what moves the Lakers make in the coming days and weeks, James’ best shot at his fifth championship will likely come with the Purple and Gold.

This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: ESPN’s Bobby Marks on how much of a trade market there is for LeBron