The Philadelphia 76ers may be bigger geniuses than many thought. Josh Harris, the 76ers owner, spoke with CNBC and elaborated on the move to get LeBron James to Philadelphia.
"We had joked, LeBron had opted out, and we thought well maybe we'll go after him, ha ha ha. Then we got a really competitive team. We took it really seriously after that," said Harris. "We all started really hitting the phones trying to get in the game…at the end of the day it came down to where he wanted to win, where he thought it would be right to spend the last chapter of his career."
Harris continued on about how James' presence is energizing and how he is a huge difference maker for the team. The team is going to need James to get them to and through the playoffs. He may be over 40, but his intelligence isn't going anywhere. That's going to be the thing that helps the most. Harris knew that when he went all in on the James free agency train.
Harris made it real easy for James with the offseason that they had. Having Jaylen Brown and signing Dean Wade made it a little easier to take a trip East. The front office has to be thrilled with their work, and seeing some of the results before the season starts has to be pleasing as well. When a front office goes into the offseason, it's always about how to make their team better.
It doesn't get any better than adding two former NBA champions to this roster. Even though Harris toyed with the idea, it had to be thrilling to have come through and make the dream an actual reality. Now James is going to have to come through on his end and help deliver a title to the city of Philadelphia. The front office has done everything they could do for the time being. Now, you could say it doesn't hurt to keep adding to the pot . But there's not much more to add until the season is underway.
Philadelphia is entering a new era of excitement, something they've truly been missing since Allen Iverson. James may have huge expectations, but what he will be doing is putting butts in seats. The winning will come; with what Harris and his partners have done, it's just a matter of time before a title is within their grasp.
