As much talk as there’s been about LeBron James’ fit on his new team, the Philadelphia 76ers, there’s been just as much around why the other finalists — Cleveland, Miami, and Golden State — weren’t picked.
The Cavaliers, of all teams, were always thought to be a frontrunner for obvious reasons. However, according to insider Brandon Robinson, James and his camp shied away from a return to Cleveland after the team chose to keep Donovan Mitchell over Darius Garland.
James and company were reportedly hoping Cleveland would use Mitchell in a trade to acquire Jaylen Brown, who will, of course, now be teammates with James in Philadelphia.
“Yet, the bigger structural question mark for James’ inner circle remained in the backcourt. As confidants of LeBron James previously shared with me, there was widespread surprise among his circle that star guard Donovan Mitchell remained on the Cavaliers’ roster and had not been moved.
As one respected league fixture bluntly put it regarding Mitchell’s ceiling as a franchise anchor: ‘Donovan Mitchell is not a number one. He’s a number one in Cleveland, he was a number one in Utah. If the Cavs still had Garland in Cleveland and moved Donovan in a trade to Jaylen Brown, there’s a good chance that LeBron James would be in Cleveland today next to Garland, Jaylen Brown and Evan Mobley,'”
The 29-year-old Mitchell just signed a four-year, $273 million contract extension with the Cavaliers a few weeks ago.
Why James wouldn’t want to play with Mitchell, one of the best scoring guards in the game, is somewhat head-scratching, though perhaps it was the defensive side of his game that concerned him.
Nonetheless, James clearly had a desire to play with Brown, and it will be fascinating to see how it all works out for the loaded new-look 76ers this upcoming season.
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