A lot of us here at Total Sports Live have been elbow deep in NBA Draft analysis and preparation if we already weren’t busy enough. (We actually have an NBA Mock Draft scheduled for Wednesday that I’m doing due diligence on.) The 2014 NBA Draft is on Thursday, and it’s going to be interesting to see whom the Philadelphia 76ers select with their two first round picks (provided one or both aren’t traded away).
Will it be Andrew Wiggins? (YES!)
Will it be Jabari Parker? (Sure, I’ll take that.)
Will it be Dante Exum? (I’m actually warming up to the possibility of an Exum-Michael Carter-Williams back court.)
One person who will not be on the Sixers roster next season is LeBron James. Today, James announced that he won’t be opting into another year on his contract to stay with the Miami Heat. Naturally, fans of all 30 NBA teams have been tweeting and writing letters to LeBron like he was Santa Claus or something in the hope that James will be donning their jersey next season.
The Philadelphia 76ers and its fan base are doing their job as well on that front. The website “King James to Philly” has been up and running for a couple of months, now. Eliot Shorr-Parks wrote this column today for NJ.com explaining why LeBron James in a Sixers uniform makes sense.
To whom? LeBron James? … or the Sixers?
Of course it makes sense to the Sixers. The Sixers and their ownership group would get to market the greatest player to grace an NBA hardwood since Michael Jordan (with respect to Kobe Bryant in between that time). The Sixers get that superstar caliber guy that can lead them to a championship for the first time since 1982. There are so many angles that explain why LeBron James coming to Philadelphia makes sense for the Sixers. Here’s the problem. LeBron James is making this decision, and it would shock me to think that the Sixers are even on his radar.
Don’t get me wrong. I would LOVE LeBron James in a Sixers jersey. I would consider buying season tickets the day after such an unlikely event happened, but I’m not getting my hopes up. I prefer to think of myself as a realist, and realistically, LeBron to Philadelphia is as much of a longshot as LeBron to the New York Knicks.
I get it. The Sixers have A TON of money to throw at LeBron James to get him to come to Philadelphia, but there’s more than that. Aside from Michael Carter-Williams, the Sixers don’t have any other viable championship pieces. They do have the number 3 and 10 pick in this year’s draft, but no one really knows who they’ll be — provided a LeBron to Philly deal doesn’t involve a sign-and-trade in some way. Andrew Wiggins is in this draft as is Exum, Parker, Randle, McDermott, et al, but would adding LeBron to an extremely young core benefit LeBron’s mission in the long run?
LeBron James’ mission is getting rings right now. This December, he’ll be 30 years old with two rings in 11 seasons. If he wants to reach the “Jordan Zone” of six rings, he can’t waste too much time with a team that is in year two of a complete rebuild. The Sixers aren’t ready to win now nor will they be for at least another year (if not two). Philadelphia has the money to bring in whoever LeBron wants to play with be it Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo, etc., but how would that make sense for the Sixers. All along, general manager Sam Hinkie is all about building something with this franchise by standing pat in the draft, gathering assets and making smart moves at the right time.
Now is not the right time to go for the big fish. Not LeBron. Not now. There are too many other teams in better position to compete for championships right away. Hinkie’s former employers, the Houston Rockets, already have Dwight Howard and James Harden under contract. The Rockets also have a fairly decent bench. Jeremy Lin and/or Omer Asik would have to be moved because that’s $30 million for the two of them, but there were plenty of suitors for Asik last year. Why should we think that shouldn’t be the case, anymore?
The Chicago Bulls would be an interesting destination because they have a young core as well, but they’re core is a lot better than what the Sixers have now. Derrick Rose will be coming back from injury for the second straight year, but with LeBron James on the roster, Rose won’t have to do all of the work offensively. Joakim Noah continues to grow into his own as a future NBA All-Star, and Taj Gibson or Jimmy Butler could benefit from a move to the bench and head up the second squad that comes in.
How about out west? (No, I’m not thinking about the Los Angeles Lakers or Clippers. Think further north.) Golden State has Stephen Curry, and they’re a primary destination for Minnesota’s Kevin Love. LeBron could win a championship or two with the Warriors with Curry and Love as his court mates. Former Sixers standout Andre Iguodala would probably have to get moved in order to make some of the pieces fit — or they could just keep him and run with Curry/Iguodala/LeBron/Love/Bogut (if healthy). That’s a championship starting five. The Warriors would theoretically be getting Kevin Martin in return in a Kevin Love deal, so you have a quality sixth man. That’s the PERFECT destination for LeBron if he decides to leave Miami.
There in lies the other issue. LeBron James doesn’t want to have the “mercenary” tag on his career permanent record. James has always been the kind of guy that stays loyal. (Forget the Cleveland thing for a second. LeBron James left Cleveland because management wasn’t doing anything to help him.) Pat Riley and Micky Arison are more willing to do what it takes to keep LeBron in Miami than Dan Gilbert ever was in Cleveland. If keeping LeBron means they have to convince Dwyane Wade to restructure his deal (be it by gun point, whatever) and trade away Chris Bosh to get more or better pieces, Riley and Arison are willing to do it. (One thing they aren’t willing to do, apparently, is pay the luxury tax, unfortunately.)
When all of this smoke clears and a new season begins in Philadelphia, there will be some new guys wearing the red, white, and blue of the Sixers. I’m willing to bet any amount of money (real, Monopoly, Bitcoin, whatever) that LeBron James won’t be one of those gentlemen. It’s just not the right time for LeBron, and Philadelphia is just not the right place for him considering what James is trying to accomplish in his career.
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