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While James was deciding his next destination, Edgecombe said he regularly called Maxey to ask whether the superstar was coming to Philadelphia. "I kept calling Tyrese, and I was like, 'Are we getting Bron? Are we getting Bron?'" Edgecombe recalled. According to Edgecombe, Maxey repeatedly denied knowing whether James would join the 76ers. "Tyrese was like, 'Bro, I don't know. I don't think so,'" Edgecombe continued. "But he knew the whole time. He just didn't want to tell me. That’s what I feel. I might be wrong."
Oh No He Didn't: VJ Edgecombe on where he was when Lebron announced he was signing with the Sixers: "I was on the court mid-workout, so I'm literally working out. Coach, his Apple Watch keep going off and off and off. He's like, damn, what's happening? He's like yo we just got Bron. I'm like, you're lying. Equipment guys came out, medical guy came out. We just got Bron, so I stopped working out, went to my phone, I seen Shams tweeted we got Bron...so I finished my workout...I had to finish the workout"
Austin Krell: Jaylen Brown said on his Twitch last night that he lost 7 lbs this offseason. “Just to be a little more fast and nimble. I gotta keep up with Maxey, Edgecombe and LeBron this year…I feel great, I’m jumping higher, running faster.”
FullCourtPass: “I kept calling Tyrese and I was like, “Are we getting Bron? Are we getting Bron?” Tyrese is like, “Bro, I don’t know.” “I don’t think so.” He knew the whole time. But he ain’t want to tell me” - VJ Edgecombe on LeBron to Philly 😭
NBA Courtside: VJ Edgecombe on LeBron James joining the Sixers: “I don’t know LeBron. Like, I love LeBron, don’t get me wrong. I just never like I met him. Obviously, we played against each other. Obviously that’s who I, you know, looked up to when it comes to basketball and stuff like that. That’s one of the reasons why I started playing ball. When he was in Miami, but I ain’t know him. But I keep calling Tyrese and I was like, “Are we getting Bron? Are we getting Bron?” And Tyrese is like, “Bro, I don’t know.” Like, “I don’t think so.” But he knew the whole time. But he ain’t want to tell me. That’s what I feel. I might be wrong.”
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“Those older guys being able to teach us young players what we need to know, I feel like that’s a very important thing for me,” Philon said. “Just being a rookie and being able to be around all those guys is a privilege for me. You don’t get to see a rookie get to play with five guys that can potentially make an All-Star team [James, Brown, Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, and VJ Edgecombe]. I feel like you can learn every day, and every day you can compete against them to get better.”
The Sixers sensation can only be candid about his reaction when it was officially revealed that James will be joining Philadelphia, further explaining his viral Instagram story where he recreated the 41-year-old superstar meme pose from 2018. "I was working out, so I was on the court. One of the coaches had on like an Apple Watch, and his Apple Watch just keep going off and off. So he stopped and looked at it. He was like, 'Yo, we just got 'Bron,' and I'm like, 'Hold on.' I stopped mid-workout," Edgecombe said on Nice Kicks. "I had to go check my phone and see if it was real. And then I went and finished my workout, and then I posted that picture."
As such, VJ Edgecombe can't wait longer to share the court with his childhood idol and play with a much more formidable Sixers squad. "Just to learn, man. To me, he is the greatest of all time, so now we got him, [Jaylen Brown], Joe [Embiid], [Tyrese Maxey], it's a squad," Edgecombe added. "I'm just excited to learn, and then what we can do on the court."
What was your reaction to James joining the Sixers? Assistant coach #1: “I’m shocked. He’s already experienced teaming up with talent before. But it’s a real risky move as far as trying to get Maxey, Edgecombe, Jaylen Brown, Embiid and himself to co-exist and be on the same page. This isn’t fantasy basketball. It’s not that easy. He knows that.” Assistant coach #2: “I don’t think their championship fortunes change just because they got LeBron. They already had a solid team. But getting LeBron probably helps them more with motivating other people on the team by example. But as far as the team itself before he went there, they were still in good shape to be a solid team. I don’t know if they were a championship team. And I don’t know still if they’re a championship team with LeBron.”
Draymond Green: "If I'm VJ Edgecombe's agent, I'm not sure I'm happy with the summer that the 76ers have had because this could affect a lot for VJ Edgecombe. Like you go from being sometimes the second option when Embiid was out to sometimes being the fifth option. It's a big, big, big difference. I don't know if y'all understand like how big of a difference that is."
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Channing Frye: "Nick Nurse, one thing that's not taking into consideration is Nick Nurse is a beast. And so when you add all these personalities to a team, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, you know, Bron, VJ Edgecombe, you know, Jaylen Brown, you need a coach that can handle all that that's going to put them in the right situation. A lot of them, everyone's going to talk about usage rate, but Nick Nurse made it work in Toronto with, you know, OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, Kyle Lowry and Kawhi Leonard."
Shams Charania: "Jaylen Brown was 100% supportive of this move of getting LeBron James. To my knowledge, those two guys didn't speak during the process, but Jaylen Brown did have communication with Rich Paul during the process to let Rich Paul know that, 'Hey, I want LeBron here. This is someone I want to play with.' And so, those guys will eventually have their own conversation, LeBron and Jaylen will, and get on the same page. There will be plenty of opportunity for them to do so. But I think the big thing that I hear around the Sixers organization right now is sacrifice. When you think about scoring, you look at Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, on any given night, 1A, 1B. Joel Embiid is right up there as well, 1A, 1B, 1C. Either of those guys can lead this team in scoring on any given night. VJ Edgecombe can be a breakout on any given night. And then you look at LeBron James, and in a lot of ways, he's setting the table for everyone."
Jake Chipper: Shams Charania on NBA Today: "The Sixers are expecting LeBron James to play a good amount of time at the point guard position... Think of a better player that can set the table for Tyrese Maxey, Jaylen Brown, Joel Embiid & VJ Edgecombe. There's all these players that can score, that can get the ball from LeBron"
NBA Trade Machine: 13.3% of trades built on HoopsMatic over the past 24 hours involved Stephen Curry. Of his trades, the most common landing spots were Philadelphia (21.7%), San Antonio (20.8%), and Boston (12.7%), while the most common return players were De'Aaron Fox (19.9%), Joel Embiid (16.3%), and VJ Edgecombe (12.2%).
