RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesThe decision by LeBron James to join the Philadelphia 76ers was a bit of a shocker to many. While the Sixers offer him up a big shot at winning a title, it would have made sense for him to head to the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Miami Heat. After all, he has a ton of history with both teams, with Cleveland being home for him, and the Heat leaving something of an "unfinished business" feeling.
However, despite all of that, he chose the Sixers. James will be teaming up with the likes of Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe in order to help Philadelphia win its first title since 1983. James ended a long title drought while with the Cavs in 2016. He will now look to do it in Philadelphia.
James' agent, Rich Paul, spoke on the decision to join Philadelphia on his "Game Over" podcast ( h/t ESPN) :
"You can see from the end of the season … the emotional attachments and how hard it is to go away from a Miami and go away from a Cleveland," Paul said on his "Game Over" podcast with Max Kellerman. "Who wouldn't want to play with Steph Curry and Draymond Green. I'm seeing the emotional roller coaster every single day.
"… Home is home [in Cleveland]. Miami is Miami. It's Pat [Riley]. … I think that everyone was at some point leading the race."
James will be joining a Sixers team that is supremely talented. Maxey, also repped by Paul at Klutch, is a 2-time All-Star and is coming off a phenomenal season. Embiid has, obviously, been the center of Philadelphia's basketball universe for a decade. Brown is coming off a season in which he was the No. 1 with the Boston Celtics due to the injury to Jayson Tatum.
Paul addressed James' fit in Philadelphia:
"I think he helps everybody on that team," Paul said. "When you talk about a secondary playmaker, if [James is] your secondary playmaker, you have the best secondary playmaker in the league. He helps Tyrese in terms of pick-and-roll action. … I think Nick Nurse can take a little page out of Ty Lue's book and use Tyrese as the screener. When you talk about a guy like VJ Edgecombe, he definitely helps him.
It will certainly be an adjustment for everybody. When you add a superstar like James, it distorts everything. Everything has to revolve around him a bit and that means everybody will be adjusting and figuring out what's next for the Sixers in terms of roles and chemistry and such. As Brown said, "Throw the ball up".
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: LeBron James' agent speaks on decision to join Sixers in free agency
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