LeBron James is a Philadelphia 76er

The, likely, final big domino of the NBA’s offseason has fallen as LeBron James has agreed to a 2-year, $8 million deal to join the Philadelphia 76ers. For the fourth time in his career, LeBron James is switching teams as a free agent and he claims this is the final time. It is a huge move that has ramifications for the Sixers, the remainder of the Eastern Conference and the league as a whole.

Why did James go to the 76ers? I think to put it plainly, out of the teams LeBron was really considering (the Sixers, Cavaliers, Heat and Warriors), this team has the most talent and is the closest to winning the championship. James said in his Tweet announcing he was headed to Philly, “I’m not going for money. I’m not going for family. What am I really playing for at this point? I still want to sacrifice. I still want to work. I still want to grind. I still want to compete, to win and to have a chance at the feeling of winning another championship.” Winning that 5th ring is what James was after this summer. He isn’t ring chasing, he will still play a big role in his team's ability to win. By taking a minimum, James sole purpose is his want to win and he feels Philly is his best chance to do so.

Back in May, I wrote about how the 76ers needed to get deeper and should trade Joel Embiid and Paul George to do so. Well, Philadelphia is certainly deeper and didn’t need to move Embiid to do so. Of course, the big move to acquire Jaylen Brown for the Boston Celtics for Paul George and draft picks, a significant asset that I certainly didn’t think they’d be able to trade George for. Meanwhile, they signed James, Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons, Ariel Hukporti and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free agency to round out their team. They are deeper but the level of top end talent is where Philly is really going to win.

Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James and Joel Embiid is quite the starting 5 and it is the starting 5 with the best star talent in the league. I am not sure it is the best, however, as the Thunder, Spurs and Knicks all could lay the claim that their 5 is the best in the league as well. It would be hard to argue against New York as they just won the title. Yes, there are concerns about Philly’s 5. The spacing is shaky, Tyrese Maxey’s 37% is the best three point mark from a season ago, but they have a bunch of different options in that group as everyone can create a shot for at least themselves. James is the best playmaker of the group, he will be the guy who is going to be able to get everyone their best looks. This team should also be good in transition with Maxey, Edgecombe, Brown and James all being really good at playing in the open court. The usage rate is also a concern, that 5 man unit had a combined usage rate of 142% a season ago, which isn’t possible with them all playing together, so everyone is going to need to be willing to sacrifice. The biggest concern, however, is Joel Embiid’s health. For those 4 games he played against the Celtics in the first round, he was awesome, outside of that he has not been healthy over the past few seasons and hasn’t been himself. I know I complimented the Sixers depth being solid but their centers behind Embiid are concerning.

Embiid has shown that he can’t be counted on to be on the court and the center depth the Sixers have is spooky. I like both Adem Bona and Ariel Hukporti but neither guy has proven they can be the starting center in any capacity, much less on a team who wants to make a real run in the playoffs. James can play at the 5, he played 49% of his minutes at center during the 2021-22 season. He won’t play that many minutes at that spot but it will need to be more than the 3% he played at the 5 last season. I think they can get away with a front line of James, Brown and Dean Wade. I am also worried about the defense. For his missed games and bloated contract, George remains a really good defensive player. Philly will need Brown to play that role and while he is a good defender, Jaylen Brown as your best defensive player closing games is not ideal. With that said, the talent Philadelphia has is overwhelming and they are absolutely a threat to win the whole thing.

The Eastern Conference is really deep with good teams. The Sixers, Knicks, Celtics, Raptors, Cavaliers, Pacers, Pistons and Heat all, likely, believe that they can win the conference. That is 8 teams right there. Odds say at least one of those 8 teams will miss the playoffs. The Sixers are as good as any of those teams, even with the Embiid health concerns. The top end talent that Philly has is as good as all of those teams and that includes the champs. They have so many different guys they can throw at you who can score the basketball. Even at 41 years of age, James is a top 25 player in the NBA, he is very additive to their team with his driving, passing and finishing around the rim. His playmaking is going to be the biggest addition to the team. They really needed another guy who could pass and James is one of the greatest passers of all time. Although I am not sure how they stack up in a loaded Eastern Conference yet, I think the Sixers will make this fit work and become a really good team, assuming they are healthy enough to do so.