The Los Angeles Lakers are no longer beholden to LeBron James, which the team has shown in multiple ways this summer.

James opted into his $52.6 million contract in late June and immediately indicated that he expects the Lakers to flip resources for a chance to win in 2025-26, which could be his last run in Los Angeles and the NBA.

But L.A. hasn’t made any blockbuster trades and slogged through the first few days of free agency, losing Dorian Finney-Smith to the Houston Rockets and watching center targets like Clint Capela and Brook Lopez sign with Western rivals Houston and the Los Angeles Clippers, respectively.

The Lakers eventually signed Deandre Ayton after the Portland Trail Blazers bought out the final year of his contract, but that doesn’t read like a seismic move in a Western Conference that is home to much improved rosters in Houston and Denver and the reigning champion Oklahoma City Thunder.

That L.A. is gearing its contract strategies toward building around Luka Doncic in 2026 and 2027 has become clear. That James may push for a trade is more than evident based on the Lakers’ offseason decisions to this point and the comments James’ agent Rich Paul made to Shams Charania of ESPN late last month.

The question is what destination might make the most sense for James in his age-41 campaign, which also has the kind of player the Lakers will want back in return for the four-time MVP? One possible answer is the Philadelphia 76ers and recent MVP center Joel Embiid.

LeBron James no Longer Focal Point of Lakers’ Offseason Efforts

James doesn’t have the leverage to force the Lakers into making a bad trade, though he can veto any deal L.A. attempts to make this summer or ahead of the February deadline based on the no-trade clause in his contract.

The Sixers didn’t make the playoffs last season, though the primary reasons were injuries to Embiid, Paul George and Jared McCain. Philadelphia should be considerably more competitive next season with George and McCain healthy and playing alongside Tyrese Maxey and rookie/No. 3 overall pick VJ Edgecombe. Quentin Grimes, a restricted free agent, could also be back after a breakout campaign in 2024-25.

That isn’t the best roster in the NBA, but it is full of youth and athleticism that could complement James and George in an injury-battered Eastern Conference that will see the Boston Celtics and Indiana Pacers acquiesce to gap years based on injuries to Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, respectively.

Joel Embiid, Luka Doncic Duo Could Prove Dynamic in Difficult Western Conference

Philly should be able to compete in the East, perhaps even with better odds to make an NBA Finals appearance than the Lakers considering how difficult it will be just to make the field of eight in the 2026 Western Conference playoffs.

Andre Drummond remains with the Sixers to provide size, and the Lakers could include Jaxson Hayes‘ contract ($2.9 million next season) and the contract of Bronny James (nearly $2 million in 2025-26). Combined with James’ salary, that would get close to the $59.5 million Embiid will earn next year. Adding Jordan Goodwin’s $2.4 million to the mix would make for nearly an exact match.

If James wants out of L.A., wants to compete for a title, wants to play with his son and wants to be “the guy” on a team in 2025-26, then flipping him to Philly for Embiid potentially fulfills all of those desires.

Los Angeles would get off of James’ deal and get the center they’ve been looking for in Embiid, who has three years remaining on his $193 million contract that includes a player option for $69 million in 2029.

When healthy, Embiid remains an MVP-caliber player. The seven-time All-Star, who will play next season at 31, won the award in 2022-23, leading the league in scoring at 33.1 points per game and adding 10.2 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.7 blocks and 1.0 steals.

Embiid has played in just 58 contests over the past two years, but if the 76ers can satisfy the Lakers that the future Hall of Fame center’s health is reasonable moving forward, Los Angeles would have an opportunity to be formidable over the next three years led by a Doncic-Embiid duo.