The NBA rumors around LeBron James don’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon, with a new report suggesting that the Philadelphia 76ers could be one of the top teams in the running to land the superstar.
The Cleveland Cavaliers have stumbled in their quest to reach the NBA Finals for a fourth straight season, landing in a two games to none hole against the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference Finals. As LeBron looks at what would be his first failure to reach the finals in the last eight seasons, the rumors about his destination next year are reaching a fever pitch, and NJ.com noted that Philly could be his next home.
The report noted that ESPN’s Brian Windhorst in an appearance on Pardon the Interruption claimed that LeBron James would not be moving to the substantially more competitive Western Conference. There had long been rumors that LeBron wanted to jump to Los Angeles, where he has an offseason home, but Windhorst suggested otherwise.
As NJ.com noted, that left only two real options for LeBron — to stay in Cleveland or join the rising contender in Philadelphia. No other Eastern Conference teams are believed to be in the running for LeBron. There is increasing speculation that James will be done with the Cavaliers, as the team has consistently failed to support him, but James has given no public indication of what he plans to do and said repeatedly that he is committed to Cleveland.
Betting outfits seem to think that LeBron James will stay in Cleveland. The site Oddshark has the Cavaliers as the odds-on favorite to keep the superstar next season, though the Philadelphia 76ers are next, tied with the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers.
The rest of the NBA playoffs could change the trajectory, however, especially if the Cavaliers should be able to recover and reach the finals, or even win a second title with LeBron.
LeBron James has saved the Cavaliers before, and surely he’ll do it again against the Celtics, right? Our NBA columnist @TheSteinLine says nope. https://t.co/Kt5LvVWUQ2
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 18, 2018
Interestingly, previous NBA rumors suggested that LeBron James wanted to move to the Western Conference so he would avoid facing the Philadelphia 76ers, a team that looks to be a future title contender. The current report seems to suggest that if LeBron can’t beat the Sixers, he’ll join them.
