Aside from one, final unresolved saga in free agency, the Philadelphia 76ers are basically done wheeling and dealing this offseason. For better or for worse, the front office seems content with parading the current crop of players on the roster, even though a lot of fans have strongly expressed their disdain over the team’s rather underwhelming string of moves this summer.
One very interesting offseason twist, however, could have some individuals in and around 76ers circles looking forward to market possibilities in the near future. After all, LeBron James, who made the surprising call to not hit free agency this year, has effectively signaled that he would be interested in playing for another team not named the Lakers,
Naturally, as with any other iteration of the LeBron “sweepstakes”, way-too-early speculations have commenced. The 76ers, which were confirmed by the megastar himself as a team that heavily intrigued him in the past, are probably going to be in the loop when talking about viable landing spots for the 40-year-old as he comes closer to concluding his legendary career.
However, that could now be a more difficult scenario to envision given this probable development.
LeBron James to 76ers trade scenario just got more improbable
While there is historically backed evidence as to why no LeBron trade rumor mill is ever overblown, the surrounding circumstances make it difficult for the 76ers to be an actual threat to play host to the King’s nearing retirement tour.
Just recently, Rich Paul, who is of course James’ agent, basically shut down trade rumors by reiterating the seemingly forgotten fact that the megastar has a no-trade clause in his contract, thereby allowing him to have full, unabated control over his fate with the Lakers.
In addition, Brian Windhorst also noted that LeBron has a history of seeing his contract through, and most signs point to him continuing that pattern.
Taken together, these signal that James is much more likely to take advantage of the full liberty which free agency could afford to him next year if he desires to leave the Lakers. At this point, it would be highly unlikely for Los Angeles to even seriously think of shopping him.
As a result, the 76ers might have just seen their chances with Lebron dim. Philly had a much more viable framework to add him via trade due to his more workable and match-able salary, but free agency is a different story. Even if it projects to be a short-term contract, James will undoubtedly try to get the best offer in the market next year.
We have may jumped the gun too much with this one, but what was an already unlikely partnership between the Philadelphia 76ers and LeBron James seems poised to end up in the realm of hypotheticals, just as it did back in 2018.