What would you trade for LeBron James?

A LeBron James and Philadelphia 76ers thought experiment.

First and foremost, this is not a prediction. LeBron James is not on the trade market, and probably never will be. As dysfunctional as Cleveland is; through the whole David Griffin fiasco, to Kyrie Irving demanding a trade, it would be inconceivable that they would trade the most important player in franchise history.

Philadelphia 76ers

However, just as a thought experiment, let’s say he lifts his no trade clause, and they put him on the trade market. What would you trade for him?

First, it’s safe to assume that every team in the NBA would be calling Cleveland. Putting James on literally any eastern conference team makes them a finals contender. Putting James on the top western conference teams makes them a threat to Golden State.

From the Sixers perspective, James puts them into the finals conversation instantaneously. The question is, how much do you personally value one finals run? James certainly wouldn’t commit to Philadelphia long term, so you would be taking a massive gamble that you would be able to convince him to stay. It’s hard to see James staying with a team that has a twenty year old point guard, which is why I wrote this satirical post of Philadelphia trading for Kyrie, and then James commits to signing with the Sixers. But, for some bizarre reason, it is being reported that Irving doesn’t even want to play with James! That makes me wonder if that’s even true, or if it’s Irving’s code for saying “I want out now, trade me.” Anyway, I find it hard to believe James would want to play with an extremely young point guard at this point — but maybe I’m wrong, who really knows?

Secondly, he’s 32 years old. You’re getting LeBron James at the tail end of his prime. The weird thing about James is, he had his best postseason ever last year from an efficiency standpoint. He averaged 32.8 points per game, on 62.2 percent effective field goal percentage. He is going to drop off eventually, but he has gotten better with age, not worse, which is incredible.

Lastly, if James considered staying with the Sixers after you traded for him, what would you pay him in the summer? If he tells you he would stay if you gave him a four year max, would you? The back end of that contract would probably be crippling to the Sixers financially. But, if Philadelphia just came off a finals run after trading for James, could you really say “no” to him? Philadelphia would be in a tough spot.

So, what would be appropriate value for LeBron James? My answer is it’s impossible to know. It depends on what the twenty eight other offers are from around the league, and if James would even consider staying here.

In the end, the odds of a LeBron James to the Sixers trade happening is less than 0.1 percent, and I’m being generous. Honestly, it’s probably closer to 0.0001 percent. Philadelphia won’t have to worry about these tough choices. This was just a thought experiment, it’s not going to happen. But it’s certainly something that is very interesting to think about.

Next: 3 reasons Kyrie Irving to the Sixers is a pipe dream

Update: Apparenlty Kyrie genuinely does not want to play with LeBron James. I assumed at worst he did not want to play with James in Cleveland specifically. That is not the case.