The Philadelphia 76ers just pulled off a massive trade, shipping Paul George and two first-round picks to the Celtics for Jaylen Brown. However, it appears they’re not done trying to revamp their starting lineup. Tony Jones, who covers the 76ers for The Athletic, reported shortly after the Jaylen Brown trade that the 76ers were interested in signing free agent LeBron James.
How Would LeBron James Fit With the 76ers?
After the trade for Jaylen Brown, the 76ers’ starting lineup would be:
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PG: Tyrese Maxey
SG: VJ Edgecombe
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Dean Wade
C: Joel Embiid
Dean Wade is a solid floor spacer who’s shot 36.7% from beyond the arc during his seven-year NBA career, but he’s not a strong rebounder and has averaged 5.3 points in 20 minutes per game in his career. He is a strong defender, which is an area of need for the 76ers, but he fits best as a rotation piece and not a starter on a potential title team. Of course, with Maxey and Edgecombe leading the way, the 76ers don’t need another primary scorer in their starting lineup.
This presents an interesting question for LeBron James. At 41 years old, James will certainly welcome not having to shoulder a huge burden. He played in just 60 games this season, his fewest since 2022-23, and he attempted just 15.3 field goals per game, his lowest total ever. Obviously, playing next to Luka Doncic meant that James wasn’t needed to initiate offense as much, but that would likely be the same situation while playing alongside Maxey, Brown, and Edgecombe. LeBron remains a strong facilitator, who had 7.2 assists per game last season while turning the ball over just 3.0 times per game, his fewest since 2012-2013. LeBron would have to be OK filling even more of a facilitator role among a group of younger scorers who are going to push the pace in a way that James may be unable to keep up.
Moving Wade to the bench would also deepen a bench unit that is a major weakness right now, with just Adem Bona, Ariel Hukporti, Dominick Barlow, and Labaron Philon as likely contributors.
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What Other Teams are Interested in LeBron James?
The Warriors still remain at the forefront of the James sweepstakes, along with teams like the Heat, Cavaliers, and Nuggets. The Spurs seem to be out of the running after signing Tobias Harris, but all cards are on the table when it comes to LeBron James. We should have some resolution in the next few days.
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