Another well-scripted Lebron James free agency drama continues to unfurl as the 23-year NBA veteran wing deliberates on where he will suit up for the 2026-27 NBA season. James likely won’t resolve to bring his basketball talent to the Chicago Bulls.
However, where James ultimately decides to play his 24th NBA season will trigger post-Lebron-arrival roster revisions that traditionally happen in short order once James arrives at a new NBA franchise, such as the Miami Heat in 2010, James second stint with the Cleveland Cavaliers starting in 2014, and of course, the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018.
Again, James is unlikely to sign a Chicago Bulls contract, yet his transition to a new NBA franchise will create a pronounced market demand by James’ new NBA franchise for a requisite injection of shooters, preferably of the catch & shoot variety, to benefit from James’ passing reads and to give big Bronny the space he needs to drive to the rim on offense.
The Bulls will immediately have two trade targets that should garner interest by the NBA franchise that wins the LeBron James sweepstakes: guard Norman Powell and forward Jalen Smith.
Trade chip calculus for a Bron-building
The elephant in the room when discussing Jalen Smith in relation to LeBron James is that both players are represented by Klutch Sports Group, so there should be a frictionless path to sending Smith to whatever NBA team becomes James new home once the 2026-27 NBA season tips off.
Smith is a big that is comparable to James’ former Lakers teammate forward Rui Hachimura, both players register three-point shooting volume on the order of four-ish three-point attempts per game. So the front-court synergy between Smith and James would be an intriguing combination to witness.
Norman Powell isn’t a Klutch Sports Group client, but he is an NBA champion and a reliable spot-up shooter, registering in the 55.9th percentile of spot-up shooters during the 2025-26 NBA regular season according to NBA.com stats.
Powell’s fit with James is ideal in that the guard can scale up his scoring to provide James with a lighter offensive workload during the regular season and know exactly how to position himself to be ready, when needed, in a playoff series when James becomes more ball-dominant.
In either scenario, the Bulls must maximize their leverage if they find themselves in a position to help James’ roster construction during the 2026-27 NBA season, meaning they should receive draft capital for helping James attempt to make a deep playoff run in the twilight of his career.
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