What are peoples thoughts about signing LeBron after this season? According to Ric Bucher and others around the league Lebron is "as good as gone". I struggle to find another team where LeBron would land... Assuming he wouldn't go to the West.

Seems like next year would be too soon for the Sixers. Will they be good enough yet to compete for the title, i.e. beat the Warriors?

Aren't the rumors he goes to LA? Both teams suck so I don't get it but I guess if he can get someone else or a few guys to come it might work.

If he wants to win now, Boston, Houston, SAS seem like viable options. If he doesn't mind waiting a year or two, then Philly seems viable although I'm not sure how much he's interested in Philly beyond basketball.

I don't think next year is too soon at all.

I think the Sixers are setup better than Boston, Houston (West) wont have any money if the keep Chris Paul after this season, Spurs (West) seem to be trending down, and both LA teams are in the West and even with LeBron wouldn't get by the Warriors.

Lets assume the Sixers don't pick up Okafor's option next year. They are only on the books for $12 million. So the Sixers could sign LeBron bring back Redick and sign a PF like Aldridge for a season and still have money for another solid role player.

Embiid
Aldridge
Lebron
Fultz
Simmons

Redick
Saric
Furkan
Holmes

That's a nice looking team... In the East that team would walk into the finals.

Most teams could walk into the finals in the East with Lebron.

How ready will Fultz/Simmons be for next year?

I'm not saying it's not a nice looking team that should win a lot of games; I'm still not sure it can beat the Warriors unless Simmons/Fultz hit their top 10% projections which are likely all-nba level play--likewise they would need Embiid to stay healthy.

As someone who lives in Philly, I'd love to see Lebron join the squad; it would be sick. But I'm not sure it'll happen. With that being said, most teams won't get past the Warriors and most teams won't have projections to get past it.

The Sixers might only have 12M on the books for next year but expect Embiid to get max and Fultz/Simmons are future max level players; Saric/Holmes probably won't be cheap either.

I was talking to someone in the know over the weekend and apparently the Sixers and Embiid are close to a 3 year/$75 million dollar extension. I think that makes sense for both sides. Honestly more so for Embiid. He would be 26 (Plenty of time for a max deal after) at the end of that deal and if he does get hurt again he has $75 million locked up. If he goes into the season and gets hurt again is another team really going to send an offer sheet for more than that given his history?

As far as Simmons and Fultz go they aren't restricted free agents for another 4 and 5 seasons.

I have a friend who is a VP for the Sixers and she said they're working on a deal.

Ideally, I think it would be great if Lebron comes to the Sixers and I think it could be a great fit. Could they beat the Warriors....maybe. But the team has a great shot as I mentioned before if we hit the top level projections for a few of our young studs. I'm not sure how well Lebron/Simmons would work but they could definitely find a way to make it work.

IDK, this is all speculation at this point. I'm hoping this core brings the city a few title wins but I know this city typically overhyped and then disappointed from my few years living here so I can't get too pumped.

Simmons looked really good and I really like the starting 5. Lot of good shooters and big. Game they easily could have won but some bad turnovers at the end.

My takeaways from game one:

- Simmons is obviously the real deal.

- Way too many weak side rebounds and second chance points for Washington. For as big of a team as they are they seem to struggle with defensive rebounds. Cant win games by allowing 16 offensive rebounds.

- Wasn't impressed with Fultz. He was a total liability on defense (-18) and his free throws had me cringing. That being said its obviously only his first game but at this point this kid looks far from a 1st overall pick.

- I thought they played more discipline when Embiid wasn't on the court. Obviously not saying they are better without him but Embiid should not be dribble driving from beyond the arch, etc... He was forcing when he was in instead of playing team basketball. Especially in the third quarter.

- Amir Johnson should be sent to the Delaware 87ers. He looked like a D3 basketball player out there.

Obviously its only one game but that's what I seen.

0-2 - Sixers/Celtics thoughts:

- Fultz again looked like complete ****. 2 for 9 from the field and a -7. Looks completely over matched out there. Tatum who is the same age as Fultz looks more polished and ready to play at this level... Fultz does not. I understand Fultz has to develop but you cant do it at the expense of getting wins.

- Gave up another 14 offensive rebounds tonight. That's 30 through two games.

- Second game where Embiid is camping around the arch and not playing with his back to the basket. 0/6 from three. Makes no sense that he is attempting one less 3 pointer than JJ Redick in a game. Especially when he didn't make one.

- Another game where Amir Johnson plays and Okafor doesn't. Someone is going to have to explain this to me. Why the hell did Bryan Colangelo not give Noel the money if the plan was to not play Okafor but instead go out and give $12 million to Amir Johnson.

In Toronto tonight without Embiid.

0-3 - Sixers/Raptors thoughts:

- Fultz with another horrible game. 1 for 5 from the field, 4 for 8 from the FT line and posted a -20. Fultz through three games is a -45.

- Okafor finally gets burn after not playing the first two games and puts up 10 and 9 in 22 minutes. Should be playing over Amir Johnson.

- Simmons looked solid but he too needs to work on his FT shooting.

Not sure when this team will find its first win.

Fultz is hurt, he should sit out for a while--it's his shoulder injury from summer league. Let's not forget, Raptors, Celtics and Wizards are all likely top 5 teams in the East and 2 of those 3 games were on the road.

The Sixers aren't shy at all about shutting down players when they are hurt. Nothing to gain by playing him if he had an injury. I understand they started off against some tough competition but Fultz just doesn't look NBA ready. Honestly I don't know how his skill set fits this team. The Sixers are in desperate need of a shooter who is going to be here with Embiid and Simmons.

Fultz was a very solid 3point shooter in college. His current shooting form is totally different from his one in college. So I guess he wants to play but his shoulder is still a mess.

I was at the Eagles game last night and didn't see the Sixers/Pistons game... From the box score looks like Embiid and Simmons killed it and Fultz was a non-factor again. Hoping to catch the replay today.

Hmmmm...he's hurt.....shocking I know.

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...ained-shoulder

The guy is pretty damn good. Goes #1 in a LOADed class and he can't do anything and you think it's just fit. LOL. Like if he was doing this after a season or two healthy then I'd write the guy off. I'm not a huge fan of his but I can't see him busting that hard especially when Simmons/Embiid have a chance to both not only be good, great and he just needs to be a good 3rd banana.

Just because he went number 1 doesn't mean he is good enough or should have gone number one. Lets remember Colangelo gave up a future 1st round pick to move up to get Fultz. Do you see Fultz really being worth the number 1 pick and a future top 5 pick?

IMO Colangelo hasn't done anything right since taking over. He lets Noel go because of $ gets nothing back in return but then goes out and spends $12 million a year on Amir Johnson? If Brown wasn't going to play Okafor he should have kept Noel.

I'll give Fultz time and make a more educated evaluation once I do see a season. That being said I still don't think he is a good fit for this team. He is a player who plays with the ball in his hands but we already have that with Simmons. We need an off guard whose main weapon isn't dribble driving but shooting. A player like Bradley Beal or Klay Thompson.

His stats are in the mold of a Kobe/Harden type player; he isn't a pure PG, he took 5 3 pointers a game in college and hasn't taken one yet in the pros due to injuries. Yes, wouldn't most teams like a Beal or Klay. I won't fully judge Fultz until he is healthy, it's kind of pointless.

Most people thought he was going #1--I can't tell right now if he's worth that much but it's not insane to think he could be. LAL is unlikely to finish in the 2-5 range this season for the draft; Sixers pick has little equity in 2019 e/c a mid first round pick; similarly the Kings pick does have some equity but it's 2 years away and they might not be top 5. Who else was the team going to get in the draft? Also, the team can't keep hoping for binking high picks and draft value. I guess the team finally thought it was time to cash in at least some of their assets.

As you saw, Noel was very solid last year but is a bit of a cancer and maybe the dumbest player in the league. He turned down solid money because he thinks he's a max guy but nobody in the league thinks he is. If we knew he would settle for the contract he did, there is likely no way he'd be traded. Amir got a 1 year high priced deal basically so the team can get to the salary floor--do you think Redick gets his deal if the team is near the cap?

Simmons while being great already is still limited shooting and creating off the dribble; a healthy Fultz can do that. The great thing about this squad is other than Embiid, there is nobody on the team long term making bank so they have a ton of flexibility to get someone like Thompson in a few years if they think he'd be the right guy just like they got Redick this year to fill in a role.

This off season could be really interesting. If the Warriors sign KD to a max deal they aren't leaving themselves with much cap space and I think at that point they trade Thompson to try to get something in return instead of letting him walk in 19. Problem is I wouldn't trade for him unless I had a guarantee that he will sign long term.

- Fultz was the consensus #1 pick, not just someone Coangelo liked. Many actually called him the best guard prospect since kyrie irving.
- he is a very smooth mid range jump shooter and 3 point shooter.
- he’s a perfect fit for this team and to play with Simmons since he is a combo guard and plays well off the Ball.
- he’s an elite talent with a very high ceiling and he’s a very good shooter. He’s injured and tried to play through it. It obviously did not go well. Fultz will be more than fine and will be a huge part of this team’s future.

Really? I'm pretty sure the Celtics traded back to three because they didn't want Fultz instead Tatum (because they felt he was the best player in the draft) and the Lakers didn't move up because they wanted Ball (who thought he was the best player in the draft). Best guard prospect since Kyrie Irving (2011 draft)? Andrew Wiggins came out in 2014.

You mentioned shooting multiple times above... He is only supposed to be out 3 games so he will have a year on a team with only one shooter (Redick) to prove he can shoot.

I'm not out on Fultz as he was hurt but I'm also someone who wants to see he belongs this season. Not only was he a 1st overall pick but Colangelo gave up a major asset to move up and draft him.

Consensus does not mean 30 out of 30 GMs. Yes it is widely known that Ainge did not want Fultz. As for the Lakers, those close to Magic said he really, really wanted Fultz, but they either did not have the firepower to move up or even though they wanted him, didn’t want him enough to pay the price needed. But yes, Fultz was absolutely the consensus #1 overall pick. Also Wiggins played mostly SF in college and projected as a small forward. The fact that the Tomberwolves are playing him at SG now does not mean that he was a guard prospect coming out of college. Yes, he was a combo type player and could play SG but he was considered a SF as a prospect.

Also, he isn’t “suppose to be out 3 games” he is sitting for 3 games and then being re-evaluated and if he isn’t 100% or close to it he’ll sit longer, which I anticipate to be the case.

Did you watch any game tape, or even highlight reels from college? Did you watch his jumper in summer league? The dude is a silky smooth shooter and excellent scorer as well.

Just feel like Hinkie never makes this move to get Fultz, thus I am skeptical.

I mean BC is a dolt but you can't judge this move based off of a few games played while injured. Fultz will be more than fine and was the best fit. Ball can't shoot and would the take ball away from Simmons and Tatum wasn't a great fit either for similar reasons.

He stays at 3 and takes Fox.

Some interesting takes from earlier in the season. Fultz looked much better when he returned but still not playoff ready. This team has looked great since Christmas even with a monster injury to embiid and dealing with integrating fultz, Marco and ersan. I love that it means little time playing bayless. The future of this team is bright. Hopefully we get a few more rounds with these guys this season.