Philadelphia 76ers: 3 steps to acquiring LeBron James

3. Trade Robert Covington

With Joel Embiid locked up for the long-term, and Ben Simmons not far behind him, freeing up space in the salary cap would be step one in their James pursuit.

Early this season, Covington signed a lucrative four-year, $62 million contract extension to recognize the signifiant growth he has shown since going undrafted coming out of Tennessee State. Early this season, this deal appeared to be a steal, as Covington burst out of the blocks in posting career numbers across the board.

Since his red-hot start, Covington’s impact at the offensive end has subsided substantially:

• Covington first 15 games: 16.7 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 1.5 SPG, 49.4 FG%, 48.7 3P%, 31.4 MPG
• Covington last 46 games: 11.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 1.6 SPG, 37.3 FG%, 32.7 3P%, 32.5 MPG

While his impact at the defensive end of the floor has remained intact, as evidenced by ranking second in the league in deflections at 3.9 per game, Covington’s inconsistencies at the offensive end remain a hinderance. Having posted seven 20+ point games over his opening 15 games, Covington has achieved this just twice over his past 46 games. Although he’s far from being the centerpiece of the offense, he nonetheless leads the team on the season with 6.9 attempts per game from 3-point range.

Considering Covington will be owed four years and $44.9 million after this season, finding a suitor with both the necessary cap space, and also the genuine need for his services, would be the next item on the agenda for president of basketball operations, Bryan Colangelo.

Among those teams with the cap space who could benefit from Covington’s services are:

• Atlanta Hawks: While they are in a rebuild mode, Covington is still just 27 and on a more than reasonable contract. Teamed with the emerging Taurean Prince, Covington could certainly switch between the 3- and 4-spots, thus providing the Hawks with tremendous versatility at these positions.
• Chicago Bulls: Another team with future cap space and also rebuilding. Covington would make a terrific addition to a young Bulls team. With Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine seemingly their backcourt of the future, and Lauri Markannen emerging as an elite rookie at the 4-spot, Covington would appear to be a seamless fit if a deal could be constructed.
• Sacramento: Kings Like the Hawks and the Bulls, the Kings are at a stage in their franchise where they could benefit greatly from the presence of a veteran who still has his best years ahead of him. A potential deal could be as follows:

In addition to racking up a future first round pick, the Sixers would receive and subsequently waive Shumpert via the stretch provision. With just $11 million owing on his deal, a $2.2 million dent over the subsequent seasons shouldn’t be a deterrent if it means getting in a room with James this summer.