Just when LeBron James had shaken off “ring chasing” and “super team” accusations, he went right back to it.
The four-time NBA champion shocked the sports community by taking his talents to the City of Brotherly Love, joining a stacked Philadelphia 76ers team. Notably, the Sixers were the biggest winners of the NBA offseason, kicking the tires with a blockbuster trade for Jaylen Brown.
According to team president Mike Gansey, that move also led to James’ arrival. In a recent appearance on ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” he explained how landing Brown was paramount to convincing James as well.
Jaylen Brown was key in the LeBron James pursuit
“Without getting Jaylen, I don’t think we get LeBron,” Gansey said. “Obviously, Jaylen’s one of the best players in the league and to get him onto the roster with Tyrese (Maxey), with VJ (Edgecombe), with Joel (Embiid), and then some of the free agents we got, obviously before all this, it changed the game for us. We just said, ‘Hey, let’s try to put a full court press: everyone reach out, sell him on Philly. I think if he comes, he could be the missing piece and we could be really good.’”