If you listen to The Bill Simmons Podcast on The Ringer's network, then you'll know that old Bill likes to throw some outrageous takes out there and present them as fact.
Of that we are about 87 percent sure and we would in fact bet our lives on it.
In the wake of LeBron James shocking the world and signing with the Philadelphia 76ers he took to his popular show with the much more level-headed Zach Lowe, and threw in a strange nugget of information in there relevant to the Phoenix Suns.
Simmons alluded to Suns going after Kyrie Irving to maybe land LeBron
When talking about the other locations LeBron could have gone, and the fact he will likely live in New York and commute to Philadelphia, Simmons randomly threw out there that the Suns tried to trade for Irving potentially in hopes of convincing James that The Valley was the place to end his career.
Although this appears mostly baseless, had the Suns been able to pull this one off there is no telling what might have happened. Already it is clear that the 76ers emerged as the frontrunner purely based on their ability to land Jaylen Brown.
If Phoenix had pulled the same trick with his good friend in Irving to pair with Devin Booker, wouldn't that have looked just as appealing? The prospect of teaming up with Dillon Brooks would have been a hilarous one given their history, while LeBron could have remained in Los Angeles and just come to Phoenix for the games.
The Eastern Conference is now deeper than the West, so staying out there would have represented being in the weaker conference (we know how good the Thunder and Spurs are and will continue to be), while it wouldn't have brought him into direct contact with his ghosts of the past either.
There now exists the very real possibility he will have to break the hearts of one or both of the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers in the playoffs next season. That wouldn't have happened with the Suns.
On a more practical level James would have helped solve some of this team's size issues, while it would have scratched the itch owner Mat Ishbia has of adding superstar talent without paying the price usually necessary to do business.
This is likely Simmons just saying things without being checked by whoever he is podcasting with as he so often does. But it would actually have made sense if the Dallas Mavericks had of been willing to give up Irving, which he claimed they were not.
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