Our friends at NBC Sports Boston believe that the Celtics have a legitimate chance of landing LeBron James this summer. We think that's silly. Go read their take, and then see our response below.
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Here's the issue with Bostonians thinking they have a shot at LeBron James: You're not living in reality.
Perhaps you're all still suffering from a Super Bowl LII hangover?
See, in the NBA, there's something called a "salary cap." And when you sign an OK player like Al Horford to LeBron-like money, that salary cap starts getting eaten up pretty quickly.
Speaking of big contracts, remember when the Celtics traded for Kyrie Irving? Why were they able to get such a young, talented player? Hmmmm … Oh, right! Irving didn't want to play with LeBron and forced his way out of Cleveland. But yeah, I'm sure everyone would magically just get along and be best buds again.
Philadelphia 76ers
Complete coverage of the Philadelphia 76ers and their rivals in the NBA from NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Speaking of people that actually get along, the LeBron-Ben Simmons bromance is an unbreakable bond and how dare you insinuate otherwise. They're the King and the Fresh Prince. How could there be a more perfect fit? Oh, and by the way, he's totally a rookie. Perhaps you Celtics folks need to learn the rules of the NBA a little more before debating these things? And he led a team to the Eastern Conference Semis during his ROOKIE season playing point guard for the first time in his life. Not too shabby.
From NBC Sports Bay Area: LeBron makes no sense for the Warriors
That leads me to the Sixers' other rookie. Celtics fans were drooling over the idea of Markelle Fultz when they still had the No. 1 overall pick. Jayson Tatum has the makings of a star. That doesn't mean Markelle Fultz won't be one. But yeah, let's totally evaluate players solely on their rookie seasons.
There's no way around it: The Celtics took care of the Sixers in five games. The Celtics are also on the golf course now, so whatever. But what LeBron likely sees is a dominant big man in Joel Embiid that is just scratching the surface of how great he can be. A point guard in Simmons with unreal court vision and plenty of potential. A player a year removed from being the No. 1 overall pick in Fultz. The Croatian Sensation, Dario Saric. And our newest Boston Strangler, T.J. McConnell (if you recall LeBron wanted the Cavs to trade for the King of Grit).
The Sixers' situation is so great that the Bryan Colangelo debacle - though incredibly annoying-– won't affect LeBron. The Sixers, unlike the Celtics, have an abundance of cap space. They can maneuver to acquire James and another elite wing player - say Paul George or Kawhi Leonard?
So you can go ahead and keep living in your fantasy - maybe Brandon Graham didn't strip sack Tom Brady there - but here, in reality, the Sixers have the best chance to land LeBron James and 41-33 was the final score of Super Bowl LII in favor of the Philadelphia Eagles.
More on the Sixers:
- Sixers hold general belief Bryan Colangelo had no knowledge of Twitter accounts
- The full timeline of 'Collargate' so far
- Sixers forced to manage more Colangelo family optics
- LeBron James will 'talk' to Celtics according to 'report'
- NBA draft profile: Miles Bridges, the best fit for the 76ers?
- All of our 76ers coverage
