LeBron James Urged to Request Trade, Chase Title With Sixers

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a disappointing season, and while it looks like they’ll be able to sneak into the NBA play-in tournament, there’s a sense LeBron James could want out.

If James does force a trade, a prominent team that has popped up as a possibility is the Philadelphia 76ers. If he did manage to land there, he’d form a new “Big 3” with James Harden and Joel Embiid, and that would certainly be a championship contender even with James’s age getting up there.

Of course, this scenario is easier said than done and it’d likely require the Sixers to part way with some of their young talent such as Tyrese Maxey and Matisse Thybulle, but there are some big names urging the teams the do it.

Former New York Knicks star Charles Oakley, appearing as a guest on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay podcast, argues LeBron needs to get out of Los Angeles and force his way to either the Phoenix Suns or the Sixers.

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LeBron Forces His Way to Philadelphia

Oakley wants to see LeBron get at least one more title before retiring, and he’s thinking the best way for him to do that is to get out of his situation with the Lakers.

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen,” Oakley told Sharpe. “He may need to get out of L.A. He needs a ring. He might need to leave to get it. Two places he could probably get it is Philadelphia or Phoenix.”

Going to Phoenix would team him up with Chris Paul for the first time in his career, but it’d be a similar situation to the Lakers where a bulk of the key building blocks are old. Of course, Devin Booker and DeAndre Ayton would be there to help shoulder the load, provided they aren’t included in a hypothetical trade.

With the Sixers, LeBron could finally not be the main option as he’d have Harden and Embiid as co-stars to help carry the weight. If a trade did happen, Philly would make more sense than the Suns as it’d at least get LeBron out of their conference.

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Would the Sixers Do It?

If LeBron James was just five years younger, the Sixers would likely be more open to a trade like this, but where he’s at in his career now, it seems quite unlikely.

James has shown he can still score with the best of them, but his Lakers team this season has been a huge disappointment despite him putting up monster stats. It might be unfair to expect him to lead a team at 37 years old, so pairing him with Harden and Embiid could be a good scenario.

The main problem that would arise in a trade like this is the fact the Sixers would have to give up a lot of pieces, something they did in the James Harden trade. Letting go of Andre Drummond and Seth Curry in the deal has been felt in a big way, so getting rid of even more talent for one player could be very costly.

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