76ers Attempted To Trade For Lakers’ LeBron James, Suns’ Kevin Durant

According to Adrian Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN, Philadelphia 76ers president Daryl Morey attempted to trade for Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James and Phoenix Suns swingman Kevin Durant at the NBA trade deadline.

Both the Lakers and Suns told Morey that LeBron and Durant, respectively, were not available. 

“After seeing LeBron James’ cryptic social media post of an hourglass a week before the trade deadline, Philadelphia 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey called Rob Pelinka to probe on a James trade and was immediately told that James wasn’t available,” Woj and Shelburne wrote. “In fact, Pelinka responded by asking Morey if Joel Embiid was available, sources said. And that ended that brief conversation. These sorts of bold trade calls are historically a common practice for Morey, who also called the Phoenix Suns and asked about the availability of Durant, only to be told Durant was not available, sources said.”

The Golden State Warriors tried to trade for LeBron as well. LeBron, 39, remains focused on returning to the Lakers next season, sources told ESPN. The King can become an unrestricted free agent this offseason if he declines his 2024-25 player option worth $51.4 million.

The Sixers are 32-21 on the season. They are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings. Embiid is currently out after undergoing knee surgery. Morey acquired Buddy Hield and Cameron Payne at the NBA trade deadline. 

The Lakers are 29-26. They are in ninth place in the West. Pelinka didn’t make any moves at the trade deadline, but he did sign Spencer Dinwiddie after the veteran was waived by the Toronto Raptors. 

The Suns are 32-22. They are in sixth place in the West. The front office acquired Royce O’Neale and David Roddy at the deadline. 

The Sixers, Lakers and Suns are expected to compete for the title this season. Right now, though, only Philadelphia and Phoenix look like contenders.