The LeBron James saga is finally over. After a few drawn-out weeks, James has decided to join the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, eight-million-dollar deal. The decision went live on Friday, July 24th.
The Sixers were not considered to be the favorites to sign LeBron until very recently. It seems it was the trade for Jaylen Brown that pushed Philly's offer over the top. Despite what may be their biggest signing in free agency since Julius Erving left the ABA. Philadelphia still has the same problems they had before getting LeBron.
In short, he made the wrong choice.
The Pacers were a better LeBron James destination than the 76ers
While the Sixers and Pacers both still have the same problem, the Pacers were built to incorporate another high-usage player, while the Sixers now host four of the top-30 players in usage percentage last year.
If you add up the usage numbers for the five assumed starters for Philly (Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, LeBron James, and Joel Embiid), you get a number far over 150%. That means each and every one of those guys, including LeBron will need to scale down significantly.
Going to Philadelphia proves James' camp's statement that winning was the top priority true, but also makes their profoundly unserious response to a Pacers pitch so confusing.
At this point, Philly has the most talented roster in the East, but it is also the worst-fitting team in the league. While there are many shooters to supplement their stars, those stars will struggle to balance with each other.
Brown is an iso scorer who gets to the rim, wearing down opposing teams with sheer scale of physicality. Embiid, when healthy, is a cheat code in the post and a truly unfair shot creator in his 7'0+ frame. Tyrese Maxey is a lightning-fast paint attacker with a good enough three-point shot to keep a defense guessing about where the pressure is going on every play.
In that setting, it seems like LeBron will be the one who has to scale himself down. Maybe that's what he wants, especially at this point in his career.
If he still wants to be a fulcrum, however, he should've been a Pacer.
Making the case for the Pacers
When Tyrese Haliburton pled his case to LeBron James, it was clear that any pitch would have to depend fully on the basketball side of the Pacers, as opposed to Indiana itself. That's no slight to Indiana, but there's a reason it is considered such a hard sell for free agents despite decades of success.
However, that argument was incredibly strong. If he had joined the Pacers, James could've immediately slotted in as another mid-to-low usage engine alongside Haliburton and Pascal Siakam, being able to sit back while the rest of the team ran for his full-court passes.
The fit was so clean that it was hard to imagine a better option.
From Aaron Nesmith to Andrew Nembhard to Ivica Zubac to new acquisition Kelly Oubre Jr., there were players all up and down the roster that fit James' preferred style like a glove. Shooters, screeners, and efficient secondary decision makers surrounding him sounded like LeBron's version of the Garden of Eden.
Haliburton's personal relationship also didn't hurt, as Tyrese was a guest co-host for LeBron's Mind the Game podcast during Fanatics Fest just a few weeks prior.
Alas, it hasn't come to past, but maybe a few months from now, the Sixers will be fighting themselves and LeBron will have to ask what could have been.
Add us as a preferred source on Google