Comparing the Sixers and Lakers as free agent destinations

The Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Lakers have been talked about as serious contenders for top free agents, but who has the edge?

On Friday morning, The Ringer‘s Bill Simmons put out a novel-sized article discussing where LeBron James should play next year. He concluded that to pass Michael Jordan as the GOAT, Lebron should come to Philly.

The entire piece brought to mind this BLG tweet:

Simmons seemed to arrange LeBron’s courters into three groups: his current and hometown team (the Cavaliers), top NBA teams (the Warriors and Rockets), and young talented teams he could lead to a title (the Sixers and Lakers).

This is far from the first time the Sixers and Lakers have been paired together in this context. But which team will have the upper hand this summer when recruiting the top free agents? Let’s look at each team’s roster, city, and culture to see who has an edge.

Roster

This category really has two parts: current talent and potential. A superstar like LeBron James or Paul George will want to pick a team good enough to win now but young enough to carry them at the tail end of their career.

Current Talent

When it comes to winning now, the Sixers have a clear edge. A simple look at the standings shows the Sixers at 32-26, making a run at home court in the first round of the playoffs, while the Lakers sit at 25-34, 6.5 games back of a playoff spot in the West.

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The Sixers already have All-Star starter Joel Embiid and four-time almost-All-Star Ben Simmons. If they’re able to land a top free agent, they would also have the assets to put together an enticing trade package for someone like Kawhi Leonard, who apparently doesn’t feel like playing right now.

Meanwhile, the Lakers have many young  players who have shown nothing more than occasional flashes. Lonzo Ball, Kyle Kuzma, and Brandon Ingram have all looked good at certain points this season, but none has shown consistency.

The Lakers would, however, have the cap space to sign two players to max deals, assuming they don’t renew Isaiah Thomas‘ contract. This means Paul George, who has long been linked to the Lakers, could team up with LeBron in L.A.

When it comes down to it, the Sixers have a much better current roster. Adding LeBron to Philly makes them instant championship contenders. The Lakers are multiple pieces away, and even with Lebron I have a hard time seeing them getting past Golden State.

Future Potential

In addition to the already elite Embiid and Simmons, the Sixers also have Markelle Fultz. After forgetting how to shoot, Fultz is far from a sure thing. But he still was the first pick in last year’s draft. If he can return to his old form, he’ll be a multiple-time All-Star.

Other than hoping one of Ball, Kuzma, and Ingram makes a huge leap, the Lakers aren’t loaded with potential. Despite repeated lottery luck, their drafts have been mediocre the past few summers. They’ll likely need to look for outside help to have any chance of competing.

The Sixers young players are better now and project to be better in the future. It’s clear when examining each roster who has the upper hand.

Advantage: Sixers

City

When it comes to Paul George, this really isn’t a competition. He grew up in California and has long expressed interest in playing for L.A.

For LeBron James, however, this category is a lot closer when we dig deeper.

The Lakers have clear selling points when they try to get LeBron to come to their city. Los Angeles the second largest market in the US and get endless media coverage. There’s a SportsCenter branch already in town. He’d be putting his name among all-time greats with a franchise that’s won 16 titles.

Philly definitely falls behind in these areas. It’s a big (but smaller) city. The Sixers jersey has been donned by many (but fewer) NBA legends. And the franchise has won three (but still 13 less) championships.

LeBron could look at L.A. and decide it’s a perfect fit for his business interests. Hanging out with movie stars in Hollywood may be the life he wants. He could decide bringing one of the NBA’s most storied franchises back to glory is the perfect end to his career.

All that being said, the Sixers still have plenty of points to sell their city on. For starters, Philly is way closer to James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio than L.A. is. Not to mention, Philly falls right between the New York and Washington D.C., the nation’s largest city and its capital, respectively.

Philly also plays in the Eastern Conference, where he has always played and wouldn’t have to face the Warriors until the Finals. Of course, Lebron could be sick of the criticism that he plays in the weaker conference and look to take his talents out West to prove the doubters wrong.

The Lakers will sell Los Angeles as a beautiful city filled with celebrities. The Sixers should sell Philadelphia as blue-collar town with hardcore fans. The contrast is reminiscent of James’ old moves from Cleveland to South Beach and then back to Cleveland.

In the end, LA..’s enormous market gives the Lakers and edge when it comes to free agents, but Philly will have plenty of selling points when July kicks off.

Advantage: Lakers

Culture

Both teams will be likely to use their culture in their pitch to free agents, but which team has the edge?

The Sixers will sell themselves on head coach Brett Brown‘s emphasis on hard work. They’ll talk about how the team preaches effort on defense and how players constantly push each other to get better.

When recruiting LeBron, Philadelphia should point to his friendship with Ben Simmons, who hinted at joining forces in this Instagram post captioned with the start time of free agency.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BfWN3RgnRUk/?taken-by=bensimmons

Finally, the Sixers will highlight their tight-knit group that always seems to be having fun on the court. These points would all be positive changes from what Lebron went through in Cleveland to start this season.

Of course the Lakers will point to their own culture as a reason for free agents to come. The team is run by five-time NBA Champion Magic Johnson. The franchise has a history of winning, and they’re always willing to spend big to build the best team possible.

One thing the Lakers’ will try to downplay as much as possible is Lavar Ball, Lonzo’s father. Lavar has been very outspoken when it comes to criticizing head coach Luke Walton, and he’s constantly been a distraction with things he says to the media.

LeBron James is an extremely intelligent businessman who loves being the center of attention. I doubt he’d be amused by Lavar Ball, who runs an unsuccessful shoe brand and moved his kids to Lithuania just to stay in the spotlight.

Lavar’s antics definitely has a negative impact on the team culture and gives the Sixers an edge in free agency.

Advantage: Sixers

Verdict

While the Sixers have the upper hand in two out of these three categories, there’s no way of knowing exactly what a particular player values most. There’s always the chance James and George want to stay where they are or join a different top team. Maybe the Lakers and Sixers aren’t even being considered.

Even if both teams are considered, Lebron’s decision could come down to something as unpredictable as where he wants his son Bronny to go to high school.

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Still, I’d rather be the Sixers than the Lakers heading into free agency.