After the last NBA season, basketball fans instantly expected that this would be LeBron’s final year in Cleveland. Following the split between the King and Kyrie Irving, experts don’t see their current squad as a threat to Golden State. The Cavaliers have nowhere near the talent they previously had; making many question the next destination for James if he fails to win the finals once again.
Fellow Full-Scale writer Ryan Haynes touched on this earlier this season, and the rumors stirring around Philly & LeBron have been too exciting to ignore. The city is torn on whether or not to pursue the King. As a life-long 76er’s fan, and a huge supporter of Sam Hinkie and the Process it’s hard to completely hand over the keys to the castle to LeBron.
Listen, I know it would be hard saying no to arguably the greatest player of all time, but people need to think this out before jumping right on the bandwagon. With that being said I think if he is the least bit interested, we need to jump at the chance. James is obviously an unparalleled talent, although his trade ideas have the Cavs looking like they are playing NBA 2K. The jury is still out on whether this team will mold together, but with the sudden nature of the trade, it’s obvious LeBron and the Cavs are in panic mode. This should be the 76er’s biggest concern with bringing in not only a superstar player but also essentially an assistant GM. This is a risk you need to take into consideration when signing LeBron James. Yes, I would swallow my pride, and take the chance even with concerns with his age. It could end badly, and that is a chance I would be willing to take. A few years ago we would have never dreamed of having a player of LeBron’s caliber thinking about signing here. This alone shows how far we have come in the process, and even if LeBron is not the piece we add, the Sixers are poised to make a move for their final piece.
Philadelphia is a viable option for LeBron; he has a solid young core to work with here, and a pretty decent amount of cap space to play with. His relationship with rookie Ben Simmons is also a big reason many think he may come to Philadelphia. Their relationship seems as solid as any he has around the league, and I know the two would love to play together night in and out. Many Philly fans are already all-in on this, and some are even going as far as buying billboards that state things like “Philly wants LeBron” and “Complete the Process”.
No matter what consensus our fans come to, we have little to no control over where King James decides to call home for the foreseeable future.
By no means would I be upset if we had one of the best players of all time on our hometown team. My biggest concern is what would happen post-LeBron. We did not sit through this entire process to have LeBron dismantle our team when it is time for him to move on once again. I am very torn on this subject as you can tell, all we can do is sit back and wait until June 30th at midnight to see where the King will claim his throne.
Well said