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Two weeks ago, the idea of LeBron James signing with the Sixers on a minimum contract would have sounded like an AI hallucination. It now appears to be under serious consideration.
On Tuesday, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported that the Sixers appeared to be in the inner circle of favorites to land LeBron, alongside the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat. He added that they were “not in the picture” prior to the Jaylen Brown trade, but LeBron is now “taking their pitch really seriously.”
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Charania said Wednesday that a decision isn’t expected soon, so for now, we’ll have to stay twisting in the wind. But regardless of what James chooses to do, the fact that the Sixers are in the race at all is absurd given where they were in mid-June.
Although the trade for Jaylen Brown looks like a no-brainer at the moment (analytics nerds be damned), there’s at least one universe in which it works out better for the Celtics than it does for the Sixers. But pairing Brown with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe and Joel Embiid has caught the attention of none other than one of the greatest players of all time.
LeBron might not be the last star to think that way. That’s a testament to the work that new team president Mike Gansey and general manager Jameer Nelson have pulled off this summer.
No matter what happens from here, the Sixers have given fans reasons to buy back in again.
The era of apathy is over
Not only is Brown a clear upgrade over George at this point of their respective careers, but he’s also largely dodged the injury bug to this point. He’s missed no more than 15 games in all but one of his 10 NBA seasons, and he just played 71 this past year.
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Given Embiid’s injury concerns, the Sixers couldn’t deal with another year of the nightly will-they-or-won’t-they-play game with both him and George. Brown will miss at least a few games here and there, but he figures to be far more available during the regular season than the 36-year-old George. That should help reduce the strain on Maxey and Edgecombe.
The trade doesn’t come without risk. Brown could be tough to fit on and/or off the court. The two first-round picks…
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Publish date : 2026-07-11 13:00:00
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