The LeBron James saga has officially come to an end with the Philadelphia 76ers winning the sweepstakes for the 41-year-old free agent.
In theory, James' decision to land in Philly should put an end to the hypothetical trade scenarios for the veteran to reunite with former teammate Anthony Davis.
Between the Washington Wizards' reluctance to offload the big man, mixed with the lack of potential packages from the shortlist of teams in on James to get a deal done, it felt like the possibility of AD being shipped out was slim to none anyway.
However, after the Sixers' bold move to acquire Jaylen Brown earlier this offseason opened the door for new general manager Mike Gansey to land his second big fish of the summer, it feels like the unexpected can't be ruled out.
If the 76ers are open to potentially granting LeBron's wish to reunite with Davis, a one-for-one swap of Joel Embiid for Anthony Davis works.
For Philadelphia, it would be a no-brainer. As for the Wizards, it would be the worst decision the new regime has made yet.
Wizards shouldn't consider landing Joel Embiid regardless of pick compensation
The biggest question mark for the 76ers is how Embiid's health will hold up to make the championship run Philadelphia's new-look roster is set up for.
And while Davis certainly has injury concerns of his own, it feels safe to say that the 33-year-old is much more reliable than Embiid, whose knees alone have made many wonder if early retirement is on the table.
Embiid, a former MVP, used to be one of the best players in the league, and when he's fully healthy, he's still one of the most dominant big men in the league.
The problem, though, is Embiid hasn't been fully healthy in quite some time, and no matter how many picks the Sixers could attach to the 32-year-old, none would be enough compensation for Will Dawkins and Washington's front office to even remotely consider swapping the former top picks.
Not only would it make them worse and lower their chances to make a playoff run of their own, just by catering to James' wishes to reunite, but it would put them in the position to pay top money to a player who's about as unreliable as they come.
Fortunately, this scenario hasn't been mentioned yet by a top insider, but best believe, if the Sixers thought it was a possibility, they'd make the move in a heartbeat.
For that reason, Washington has to stick to their guns and work out an extension that keeps AD in the DMV for the future.
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