r/sixers

Obviously id love to see LeBron go to Philly. He’s the missing piece that turns a 3-6 seed into a serious contender for Philly.

I see a lot of people post here (r/NBA) saying the reason why Philly doesn’t work is because we rely on Embiid health. That was true in the past. If Embiid is healthy we can go the distance. Obviously that has never happened. The difference is now we have Jaylen Brown who, i would argue, makes this team much more immune to Embiid-less stretches. It feels similar to how the Celtics had Porzingi-wingi in 2024 as the nail in the coffin.

That being said, I don’t understand how people can make this argument given that LeBron said he wants to team up with Anthony Davis and Steph Curry. AD is just as injury prone as Embiid and I would argue, although biased, that Embiid is better than AD. Steph similarly is not a pillar of durability AND if Steph gets hurt the Warriors would be totally reliant on Bron. So in my mind, if LeBron’s original #1 option was to go to the warriors with Steph and AD, doesn’t care about Injury luck to a certain extent. Plus the Sixers have the added benefit of no longer being totally reliant on Embiids health with the three headed guard dragon of VJ, Maxey and Brown.

Obviously Cleveland makes the most sense from a narrative standpoint if you look at it as he finishes his career at his Hometown team, but I feel like he’s already done that by returning in 2016. LeBron going to Philly would make him the first star to be a significant contributor on (hopefully) 4 different teams.

TLDR; Philly and Cleveland are exchangeable #1 and #2 destinations in my mind for LeBron. One for being a narrative choice, the other for being a championship choice.

P.S. I tried posting in r/nba but it was removed for some reason. Anyone know why or how I can find out why?

The Sixers option looks like an Eastern Conference All-Star team

I see so much hype about Ben Simmons potentially returning to Philly, especially with him mentioning being interested in coming back here, and a good amount of 76ers fans are eating that shit up, and I just don’t get it. Aside from the fact he’s an NBA point guard afraid to shoot a basketball outside two feet, he played only 48 games in 24-25, and didn’t play at all last year. He also went through back surgery multiple times. I get he probably had the most potential of any nba prospect ever, and it sucks that we used a number one pick on him when we could’ve drafted a better player (like Jaylen brown lol), but people just gotta accept that it’s over with. In another life Ben Simmons was the modern day magic Johnson and him and embiid led the sixers to multiple titles, but I think at this point with the roster we have, and the east being as competitive as ever before, the final roster spot is far too valuable to waste on someone who might not even play.

JB will concentrate more on defense this upcoming season, given the Sixers' crazy offensive firepower, and will make an all-defensive team.

Personally my list consists of:

1. Khris Middleton
2. Kevon Looney
3. Matisse Thybulle
4. Bruce Brown
5. Ziaire Williams

And the guy I’d like to see the Sixers sign but probably wouldn’t accept the vet minimum is Rui Hachimura.

I think people are overlooking what may have been the most important thing Rich Paul said in that entire whiteboard video:

"Had the Knicks not won the title, there would be no board."

In other words, Rich Paul confirmed that LeBron was prepared to go to the Knicks if they hadn't won. That tells me LeBron was, at least at one point, very intrigued by the idea of:

• Joining a fourth franchise.
• Getting that team over the hump to its first championship in decades.
• Becoming a legend in another major NBA city.

Because of that, this recent narrative that he's been dead set on returning to Cleveland all along feels pretty speculative. Rich Paul essentially confirmed that wasn't the case.

So what's the next closest opportunity to what the Knicks represented? I think it's the Sixers.

Philadelphia is a top five media market, the franchise hasn't won a championship since 1983, and delivering a title here would make LeBron a Philadelphia legend forever. It would also give him a fourth city where he's viewed as a transformational franchise icon.

From a post-basketball business standpoint, I also think LeBron and Rich Paul understand the value of expanding his legacy into a fourth major market. That creates another fan base, another region, and potentially another ownership pathway if LeBron still intends to pursue NBA ownership. It's also notable that Rich Paul specifically mentioned Josh Harris and David Blitzer in that video, and LeBron has spoken highly of them as owners.

Choosing Philadelphia would also reinforce the idea that basketball is still the priority. It would be another move based on championship opportunity. Returning to Cleveland, while meaningful, would largely be viewed as "going home." That's a much less compelling story than proving he can elevate yet another franchise to a title.

TL;DR: I don't think LeBron is locked in on Cleveland at all. Rich Paul's comments suggest his preferred path was actually New York. With that option gone, I think Philadelphia is the closest version of that original vision, and ultimately the destination he chooses.

There is a “growing belief” from teams competing to sign LeBron James that him returning to the Cavs is the “scenario to beat,” per @TheSteinLine.

Long story short it’s over for the wolves, nuggets and sixers, all those theatrics he and paul did for nothing lol

I already knew this would happen after the hype of trade died down, but this fast was unexpected. Celtics fans are already trying to say that they won this trade and have started to pour out the cope. Part of me wants to argue, but it’s lowkey so ridiculous the shit that they’re saying, that it’s kinda funny. Every time we would mention PG8 perimeter defense, Celtics fans would say something along the lines of “oh yea great defense against JB and Tatum who are both averaging 25+ on great efficiency” Now after the trade it’s “Yo Paul George absolutely locked up Jaylen Brown in the Playoffs” 😂 They complain brown is a ball hog and George is a much efficient scorer, but Paul George as a second option most of the year averaged like 15 ppg 😭, and mind you he barely plays. I think that’s what most Boston fans are forgetting about that it’s fucking Paul George lmao. The same one who’s played less than half the games each season with the sixers. The cope is just hilarious, because Celtics fans used to love this guy and talk all kinds of nonsense when he was frying the sixers, and now apparently he sucks 🤣.

When thinking about the whole whiteboard thing , and asking myself what is the point of this? I think i was able to figure it out.

The core 5 teams on the whiteboard are the ones that make sense , but he added a few that are kinda ridiculous like Dallas and then put Oil and Golf for reasons . The goal of the podcast was clear. Send the message "We may go anywhere"

So why? The obvious answer would be leveraging the teams against each other but for what ? LeBron's prepared to take the minimum so it cant be for more money. Then the answer became clear.

Anthony Davis

We all know lebron wants to play with AD , If golden state would've acquired him he'd already be there. I also think putting Golden state off to the side of the whiteboard, not mentioning kerr and barely saying anything about them after being the favorite this entire time was strategic, letting them know "you dont got this in the bag and you better do something. "

But the other piece is AD is Rich's 2nd best client and he desperately needs to get to a team that will extend him . Another year playing less than 50 games could tank his value and ruin his last chance at cashing in . Im sure Paul doesnt want this and again lebron wants to play with him.

Then you have the Wizards "We're NOT trading Anthony Davis" but they've also already decided they're not extending him either. Then they trade for a center. Its negotiation. Theyre actually being smart for once. They know they hold the key to Lebron and they wanna get the best deal possible .

When you look at the 5 Core Teams (and GS) on the board everyone but Miami has a salary package they could sent out for davis that makes sense positionally. Not saying they should just that the main player would be at a position Davis can play outside of GS . Im also not saying the wizards would take these packages just that there is a starting point.

Sixers : Embiid + Picks - Davis becomes starter center

Nuggets: Gordon + Braun + Naji - Davis Becomes starting PF

Timberwolves: Gobert + Divecenzo + Beringer - Davis at center

Cavaliers : Jarret Allen + Strus + Schroder - Davis at center

Golden State: Jimmy

Any of these trades could obviously have a 3rd team as well and involve picks

Rich Paul is putting all these possibilities out there in the hope that 1 front office makes a move to tip the scales in their favor and its not a bad strategy becausse you are essentially trading for Lebron and AD . He also made it a point to say that bron never said he was only playing 1 more year. Which could entice someone even more to pull the trigger on a trade knowing its not just a 1 year rental and is probably 2 years.

From a sixers standpoint Im not here to argue with embiid fans about whether we should do it. It would probably cost us the 2029 clippers pick swap and another pick or two. But i think washington would have to listen considering we have a good pick to send and AD isnt really more durable than Embiid . They can also move embiid when he's an expiring or send him to a 3rd team now.

I don't have an opinion either way. That's for Gansey and the front office to debate but you would have to at least have the conversation in private.

Now assuming they did decide to go for it . As far as the AD extension i think you would likely just promise him if he opts out after this year you will give him a 2 year contract at the max putting him on the exact same timeline as the Embiid, Brown , and Maxey contract . He gets a raise and 1 extra year. If thats acceptable then okay. You would also ask for a 2 year commitment from Bron.

My prediction is that this drags out a Week or two while they wait to see if someone goes for it and secures AD. In a week or so Paul may start telling teams directly if you get AD we will come , but i think he's trying to avoid that and be subtle for now to avoid the LeGM storylines and all the hate that comes around the long running narratives of klutch sports trying to manipulate rosters. If he starts telling teams directly it will leak out fast.

I also don't think he wants to hurt the team Bron is going to in negotiations with Washington giving the wizards more leverage to rake them over the coals for AD. That bit of leverage may be a valuable young player that has to be thrown in.

All the tv shows keep saying "embiid has the worst contract in the league" and i just dont feel this way anymore after last season.

Because i realized that no matter how many injuries this man has , He will always be a bucket. The nature of his game demands it. He's so consistent in the mid range as a 7 footer and he has so many setups to get to it. Jab step , pull up. Shoulder into your chest to knock you back , 1 legged fade. 2 dribbles to fake the drive. spin back fade. Back Down Right shoulder , left shoulder. Its endless.

The nature of the shot , the consistency at which he hits them . The touch isnt going anywhere. Sure i miss the power element of his game , the drop steps into 2 handed dunks and what not but he doesnt need it .

The injuries suck but we get enough from him when hes there that salary dumping him even for an expiring just isnt worth it. Id rather lower his volume with JB here and Edgecombe ascending and hope it leads to less falls and less injuries.

And dont let us Re-Sign him in 2029 to a short term, team friendly low salary deal , he may go from "worst" contracts to one of the best.

Courious if Morey was somehow boycotted by other GMs for some reason ? Would Morey have even had a chance to get on the phone with Boston ? Did the James Harden conflict have a fall out around the league we did not see maybe ? I just feel Morey at a point became ineffective and other GMs would just not deal with him out of spite. He did have some nice draft picks at least.