It is official: LeBron James is joining the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year $7.95 million contract. Dare I say the best-value contract in the league?
LeBron made sure he gave the media time to ponder his free agency decision, with the majority convinced he was going to return to the Cavs or Heat, or team up with Curry in San Francisco; the 76ers option always seemed like a long shot.
But he stuck true to his word. LeBron wants to win another ring, and it is hard to argue that joining this already stacked Philly team wasn’t his best option.
Before we move on to discuss this 76ers team, let’s first pour out some sorrow for the losers of the LeBron sweepstakes.
The feeling around the league is that LeBron wanted to go home to Cleveland, but they were unable to make any roster moves that convinced LeBron they were ready to compete for a chip. Miami was being discussed, but the fit was questionable. Golden State seemed likely, teaming up with Curry for one last dance, but no, the Warriors were unable to do ANYTHING to make themselves even a semi-competitive team outside of Steph.
At 41 years old, LeBron is self-aware enough to know that he can’t lead a team of nobodies to a Championship. Don’t get me wrong, LeBron is still a massive difference-maker on the court, but more as an elite role player now. When you think of it that way, why wasn’t Philly the more obvious choice?
With the blockbuster Jaylen Brown trade earlier in free agency, the 76ers have already been the talk of the league. “Superteam”, “The Avengers”, “Powerhouse”, “Stacked”, were all the adjectives being thrown around to describe this team. To then go on and add The Chosen One? Surely that’s the final Infinity Stone for them.
At full strength, Nick Nurse will be fielding a starting lineup of Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid. I dare you to find me a more talented roster.
More talent usually equals winning, but talent isn’t everything…
Reasons to believe
Their ceiling is an NBA Championship.
Having this many guys you can go to on any given night is a blessing that I would argue no other team in the NBA has. Imagine trying to shut down Embiid, only for him to kick the ball to Maxey, who may also get shut down and can then pass the ball to Jaylen Brown, and if you somehow stop him, well, don’t worry, they only have the greatest player of all time to pass it to.
They are the definition of stacked, and if/when they can figure out an effective offensive scheme, they are going to be a nightmare to guard.
Philly now have the two leaders in fast-break points last season in Maxey and LeBron. Adding in the speed and athleticism of Brown and Edgecombe, this team is going to be electric in transition. Can’t wait to see LeBron sending those quarterback dimes down the court.
Offensively, they are going to be hard to stop. I expect them to be extremely effective at controlling the tempo of games as they are comfortable both pushing the pace and playing in the half-court.
LeBron’s addition is perfect from a locker room standpoint as well. There were some concerns with Brown joining that multiple guys with big egos may be an issue.
Who better to sort these potential issues out than LeBron? A team can only win the Championship as a team, and he will make sure everyone in that building knows that.
Reasons to be skeptical
In the last 3 seasons, Joel Embiid has played just 96 games. Now add in a 41-year-old LeBron to the mix, and fielding a full-strength team looks like a massive challenge in itself.
Working in their favour is that with so much talent, they have the luxury of resting both Embiid and LeBron every other night to ensure they are fit and firing come playoff time. Brown, Maxey and Edgecombe are all durable guys, used to the heavy workloads, and capable of carrying Philly to wins on any given night.
In saying that, these guys are going to need to play a lot together. You could say this about any new team, but for this Philly team I think it is especially important.
Brown and Embiid were both top six in usage rate last season, each above 33%. Add in Maxey’s 28% and LeBron’s 26%, and it is obvious something, or someone, is going to have to give. Expect this to take some time.
Along the same lines, it will be intriguing how quickly Philly can develop an identity with this new-look roster. You can’t go all the way unless everyone on a team is working on the same wavelength, and building a strong identity is at the core of this.
This becomes especially important in the clutch moments. The best teams all have their go-to guy. New York has Brunson, OKC has Shai, San Antonio has Wemby. Who will it be for Philly?
Finally, we haven’t touched on any defensive talk yet. This team will not be a defensive juggernaut by any stretch, but can they play effective enough defence to win a Championship? I think yes.
Jaylen Brown is one of the most underrated lockdown perimeter defenders in the league. With less of an offensive workload to shoulder, I expect Brown’s defence to go to another level.
Embiid will obviously be the major question mark for them defensively, but Philly will be hoping their impressive athleticism across the floor can make up for any deficit.
Can they win it all?
I think I have already answered this question, but with everyone healthy, Philly have to be capable of going all the way.
Whether I think they will win it all is another question in itself. Let’s just say they are going to be must-watch television either way.
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