LeBron James signed a team-friendly deal with the 76ers. So friendly, that it's considered the best in the NBA.
Some players sign a contract, and at the time it’s the best in the NBA. Other times players get overpaid for a season that they could never duplicate again.
For the Philadelphia 76ers, they may have made the best deal you could possibly think to make. The 76ers signed LeBron James to a two-year, $8 million contract, and it may have been the best move ever made. Bleacher Report certainly thinks so, as they deemed this signing as the best in the NBA.
No one could blame them for thinking this considering no player of James’ caliber would ever accept a veteran minimum, even if they were trying to win another championship. This just speaks to James’ character and how much winning truly means to him. There have been other players who have signed huge deals, and it has not panned out for the franchise. Take Bradley Beal, for example.
Beal signed a five-year, $251 million extension with the Wizards back in 2022. After one season, he was traded to the Phoenix Suns, who at the time were trying to build their own superteam composed of Beal, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker. Many praised the move, while some were unenthused and rather confused by the move. Needless to say, it didn’t pan out, and the franchise was forced to trade Beal away.
This is just one example of how one move by a franchise’s front office can set a team back. That’s what makes the signing of James’ even more impressive. James may have lost some of his explosiveness but that athletic ability and shooting prowess. James still has the capability to average 20 a night if he needed to.
The tricky thing about making these contracts is how to work the salary cap in a way that benefits the team while giving the players what they are asking for. That's why what this front office of the 76ers did during the offseason is so impressive. They managed to sign James after trading for Jaylen Brown and then added crucial bench depth in Anfernee Simon, Dean Wade, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Doing all this while still managing to stay under the first apron, this franchise deserves all the praise it’s getting.
You could even say the Embiid contract was their only flaw, but that was a Daryl Morey signing, not Mike Gansey. Even still, that contract is only considered bad because of availability, not production.
The 76ers are in prime position to continue adding for the future if they can keep making smart deals like these.
