3. Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers were one of the teams that expressed interest in the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. Which is unsurprising, considering Daryl Morey’s fetish of chasing stars.
He’s done it his entire career. He tried it time and time again when he spearheaded the Houston Rockets’ front office. He tried getting James at that time, but James wasn’t interested in Houston.
Could Morey get his wish this time around? The Sixers could surround James with Joel Embiid, who would easily be James’ best running mate through his career, when healthy. To that point, Morey and the Sixers know the clock is ticking on Embiid’s Sixers tenure.
Hell, he said it himself just a few months ago, in so many words.
“I just want to win a championship. Whatever it takes. I don’t know where that’s going to be. Whether it’s in Philly or anywhere else. I just want to have a chance”
— Eliot Shorr-Parks (@EliotShorrParks) July 17, 2023
Surprising Joel Embiid comments while stressing how bad he wants to win a title in a recent interview
#👀 pic.twitter.com/d8A8dT8TYF
Surrounding Embiid with James would give the Sixers the best one-two punch in the league, although that would be a very top-heavy group. Not to mention Tyrese Maxey, who is a young, rising star.
This could give James his best Big Three since he played alongside Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade with the Miami Heat. The Sixers will have $65 million in cap space this summer, which is ample salary to give James his desired contract.
They also have their own first-round pick, which could come in handy, as James has expressed his desire to play alongside his son, Bronny James.