The Philadelphia 76ers are still on the lookout for the next big name to become available in the market — that is a guarantee with Daryl Morey still the head poncho for the franchise. And as everyone already knows, not even the fact that the season has not started will slow down his hankering for a superstar.
Of course, the ebbs and flows of the player movement trend in the league makes so that the next big name will always be highly difficult to predict, but there are early favorites even at this juncture. But no other player projects to have a more lucrative possible bidding war for their services than LeBron James, who has gotten a lot of attention this offseason thanks to his unorthodox sailing.
For those who are unfamiliar with the situation, LeBron opted into his player option for this season, effectively bypassing free agency this summer. That being said, him hitting the open market next year is all but guaranteed, and the Lakers definitely know what they are dealing with.
The 76ers, who were previously a finalist to land the megastar during the summer of 2018 before heading to Hollywood, are naturally an easy team to shoo in on a prospective LeBron sweepstakes. However, the truth of the matter is that they might not even belong in the tight loops of teams expected to be in the actual running for the 40-year-old.
76ers may easily get bested in the LeBron James bidding war
The race to get James has been nothing more but conjectural at this point in time, but there are definitely rumblings about teams that could register interest in signing him as a free agent next year.
While far from coming from a reputable source, a league executive reportedly told that the Cavaliers, Mavericks, and Warriors are expected to pursue James in free agency.
While not a credible footing at the moment, this report definitely falls squarely into what those teams mentioned probably feel about the superstar. Cleveland will always be the franchise which James will be most associated with, and a reunion to cap off his career would be iconic.
Dallas, like Philadelphia, is always on the hunt for the next big superstar. Meanwhile, Golden State were previously rumored to have entertained the idea of pairing James with his iconic nemesis — Steph Curry.
The 76ers, as currently configured and perceived, falls short of what those teams can offer him from a narrative standpoint. That’s not even to mention the kind of financial gymnastics the front office will have to pull off to even be a feasible landing spot.
For those reasons, the Philadelphia 76ers will probably not be considered as one of the favorites to snag LeBron James.
At least for now.