"We built a structure for the future not just a team of all-stars." - Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour, 2008.
"You're either getting better or you're getting worse." - 76'ers GM (then GSW GM) Bob Myers, 2017, after adding Kevin Durant.
When [Myers] helped build those dynastic Warriors teams as the general manager, he was able to do so from the ground up, with Stephen Curry and coach Steve Kerr as the ultimate cultural loadstones and perfectly interlocking components such as future Hall of Famers Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
The job in Philadelphia is very different. Myers...isn't building off a solid foundation.
the questions...in Philadelphia are very different from the ones he answered in Golden State, Myers applied the same "you're either getting better or you're getting worse" logic in replacing Morey, and adding Brown and James.
I have bad boding about one size fits all solutions and I don't nelieve that you either get better or you get worse is the one size that fits all. Right now, Philadelphia is a collection of all-stars, they are not a Team.
"I can totally see why they did it," one Eastern Conference executive said of the Sixers' moves to acquire Brown and James. "They're desperate. They needed to do something else before they get through to the next thing.
Yes.
"So getting Jaylen for what they got him for is a good risk. Getting LeBron on a minimum is outstanding.
Yes, too!
"What I'm not sure is why [James] did it. You've got a lot of guys who want the ball in their hands. Who's setting screens? Who's doing the dirty work? Who's defending? A lot of that is going to fall to LeBron, I think."
My thoughts at bottom.
Shortly after James made his announcement, 76ers All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey posted a video of himself celebrating with the caption, "I'm like Coach Cal."
Rich Paul, and perhaps LeBron as well, sees "Coach Lebron".
He was referring to his former college coach, John Calipari, who has routinely landed top recruiting classes...
Maxey, who played one season for Calipari in 2019-20, was among a small group of people who got some inkling late Thursday night that James would ultimately choose the Sixers, according to sources. James has known Maxey for years and is represented by the same agency.
There are risks, of course. Two Sixers sources pointed out the potential disruption to the development of VJ Edgecombe, who showed flashes during his rookie season of the kind of potential to lead his own team one day. How much will adding two high-usage players in Brown and James take the ball out of Edgecombe's hands?
Shades of Jonathan Kuminga in Golden State
The NBA coach countered that Edgecombe will learn far more from Brown and James than he will be stunted by them, [But will Edgecombe know that? Kuminga did not.] and besides, "it's not like this team is going to stay healthy all year. The young guys will probably have to carry the load in the regular season anyway."
Embiid played only 57 games over the past two regular seasons, fewer than James played last season in his age-41 season.
"Honestly, LeBron is the guy who just proved the best that he's capable of playing a different role," the coach said. "None of those other guys has ever really done it."
"If this goes well, none of those five guys are going to average career highs," the NBA coach said. ...So the most important thing is going to be getting everyone to buy in. Getting everyone to forget about how the stats affect their contracts or reputations."
Embiid had extensive and meaningful conversations with James during the recruiting process, and has been trying to get James to Philadelphia -- at least in a tongue-in-cheek fashion -- since 2014. ...James considered joining the 76ers in 2018...
"It all comes down to Joel," one league source close to the situation said. "If it's Tyrese, VJ, Jaylen Brown, LeBron and Adem Bona, that's not a championship team. But if it's those four guys and Joel, that's a championship team. ..."
Paul acknowledged he even thought that Miami would end up "as the spot," for a long portion of a decision-making process...
What changed? Everyone denies that the errant "Heat" introductory press conference "tableholder" was a non-factor. But LeBron's camp was irritated by Commissioner Adam Silver pushing James to make a decision. The two are not that dissimilar. Maxey was a factor in the decision and he was ⚡️in his recruitment of James; Embiid, too.
Pat Riley said he wasn't going to "bug" Rich Paul with phone calls. One can imagine Riley's stance getting filtered down to Bam Adebayo and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Did LeBron want to be wooed? Did he want Pat Riley to beg? Well, Riley did not woo or beg and he said he wouldn't. I wrote previously that 601 Biscayne considers the franchise one that all top players should want to join. Like Alabama under Nick Saban. Or like Sheikh Mansour's Manchester City. They want to choose. They don't "recruit", not even "The Chosen One". Despite the past 10 seasons of 44-38, I see more truth than untruth in Riley's stance. But that is going to chafe LeBron, whose entire career has been about player power. Those two guys knew each other. I wrote also, "Do the 'Heat' really want LeBron?" Not enough to grovel, I concluded.
Something changed. Obviously I don't know what it was, but the basketball reasons were not it. For a long time in that "long time" where Rich Paul thought Miami was "the spot", the "Sixers" had Jaylen Brown. It says here, for what this is worth, that power was at the heart; the power not to be ordered around, the power to compel love. I don't blame LeBron for deciding that he would have more power and more love in Philadelphia, and I don't blame Pat Riley for deciding that LeBron had to fit the "Culture", not the reverse.
It would have worked in Miami. I don't know if it is going to work in Philadelphia, there are going to be some casualties, Nick Nurse, Jaylen, Edgecombe, but most of all "It all comes down to Joel". LeBron doesn't have the powet to keep Joel Embiid healthy.
