Philadelphia 76ers: Lakers fan takes an unconvincing shot at the Sixers

The race for LeBron James’ services next season continued this week, as a Lakers fan took a shot at the Philadelphia 76ers.

The Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers both went old-fashioned in their advertisement pursuits of superstar LeBron James.

According to Chris Walder of The Score, attorney and avid Lakers fan Jacob Emrani financed the placement of four billboards around LA Wednesday. This equates to the Philly-themed billboards put up in Cleveland weeks prior, aiming to sway James to the City of Brotherly Love.

The goal: to attract and ascend James toward the City of Angels. The advertisements come ahead of Thursday’s report from Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer stating James narrowed his free agent wish-list to four teams: the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lakers, Houston Rockets, and the Sixers.

Walder notes that the two billboards erected Wednesday take shots at the Sixers. One billboard reads, “Forget The Process, We Win Banners!” and the other, “Cleveland & Philly, You Can’t Compete with L.A.”

Battle for Bron heatin up
Billboards in LA 😎

“Forget The Process. We win banners”

“Philly and Cleveland, you cant compete with LA”#LABron #PhillyWantsLeBron pic.twitter.com/oAiLqG1nTv
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) March 7, 2018

Emrani appears to be mistaken. Besides the glamour of Los Angeles itself, these billboards don’t do much to make ‘LeBron to LA’ an attractive reality.

Though The King to Philly is far from a guarantee, here are three reasons why the Philadelphia 76ers are a much better fit for LeBron James services than the Los Angeles Lakers moving forward.

Philadelphia 76ers /

“Forget The Process”

The Sixers process was a carefully constructed plan started by former GM Sam Hinkie in 2013-14. A process like Hinkie’s implies forward-thinking, suggests sacrifice and reads like strategy.

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Conversely, in the same time frame, the Lakers’ sense of direction seems to be muddled. In other words, some of their decisions prioritized instant winning, while others required patience and player development.

The Lakers truly forgot the process; or, maybe, the Lakers had no process at all. So, while Emrani’s words were meant to mock Philly, they may reveal a possible flaw in his favorite team.

For example, entering 2014-15 the Lakers were fresh off a 27-55 season. Clearly, the Lakers needed reinforcements, and with the seventh pick in the draft, LA took in Julius Randle, a bruising power forward from Kentucky with a nice stand-still, mid-range jumper.

However, according to Basketball Insiders, about three weeks later, the Lakers claimed Carlos Boozer off amnesty waivers from the Chicago Bulls. Randle and Boozer play the same position and own comparable skill sets.

Randle’s youth fit into a long-term style of thinking, which the 27-win Lakers needed. Boozer, however, was an established veteran in the twilight of his career.

Both players served opposite needs.

More famously, the Lakers paid Kobe Bryant a substantial amount of money late in his career. Early in the 2013-14 season, the Lakers gave Bryant a two-year extension on his contract.

According to ESPN, the contract slated Bryant to make $23.5 million in 2014-2015 and $25 million in 2015-2016. Bryant inked the deal while recovering from an Achilles injury.

Sportrac calculated the effect of Bryant’s extension on the Lakers roster. Bryant covered over a third of the team’s cap in 2014-2015 and almost 35 percent of the team’s cap in 2015-2016.

Although a sign of respect to one of the greats, throwing large sums of money at Bryant while uncertain of the franchise’s immediate plans without him discounts the future.

A sign of respect, yes, but no process.

If LeBron were smart, he would turn to a franchise like the Sixers who can and who have followed through with a plan.

(Photo by Newsmakers) /

Banner argument

As mentioned, one billboard proclaims “We Win Banners!” The Lakers own one of the most storied franchises in NBA history and their past success cannot be ignored.

In the case of James, the banner argument may not hold any weight. James doesn’t need a winning culture to cradle his skillset.

He is a winning culture.

James reached the NBA finals in seven straight seasons with two different teams. Both teams, the Miami Heat, and the Cavaliers would exist as middling playoff-teams at best without James’ services those prior seasons.

James, a three-time NBA champion, doesn’t need the validation of a storied history to attract his talents. After all, Cleveland had zero titles before James chose to return in 2015.

While James could join a list of all-time purple-and-gold greats in LA, the 15-year vet has other priorities on his mind. In his return to Cleveland in 2014, James wrote of the Cavs “I will be the old head. But I get a thrill of bringing a group together and helping them reach a place they didn’t know they could go.” (The full article, as told to Lee Jenkins, can be found here).

In conclusion, Emrani should’ve highlighted the young talent currently in LA and how James can guide them along in lieu of dangling past accomplishments.

(Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images) /

Roster Composition

Both the Sixers and Lakers own the kind of young, high-ceiling talent that the veteran James strives to carry to the next level.

Moreover, the next question to ask is simple: which young roster is better?

Perhaps ESPN answered this question for us recently. According to a Reddit post, the ESPN’s “Top 25 under 25” list boasts a healthy amount of both Sixers and Lakers youth.

However, the Sixers feature two players in the top-10, with Embiid third and Simmons sixth. The highest ranked Lakers player is Brandon Ingram at 16th.

Subjective lists are debatable. Stats, however, are not.

Out of the top 15 players in all major stat categories, the Sixers are once again well-represented.

Currently, the Sixers have one player in each of the top-15 categories of PPG, RPG, BPG, and APG. In addition, two Sixers players are in the top 15 of SPG.

In all five of the above top-15 categories, the Lakers have zero representatives.

It’s fair to say Philly possesses more firepower than L.A. The ammo behind that firepower may also hold dear to LeBron’s heart.

James is known to be a mentor to Simmons. The two have a close relationship which is salient through social media. Perhaps this Instagram post is the most telling.

So, King James, as you coast through an L.A. doubleheader this weekend, don’t get too comfortable. Turn a blind eye to the billboards and set your sights approximately 2,700 miles east.

Next: Where will LeBron James end up?

You’ve got a process to complete.