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LeBron James could potentially be a free agent at the end of this season

( (Photo by Mike McGinnis/Getty Images))

It is a question every fan base and every team will ask themselves at some point this season: Could LeBron James sign with our team?

30 teams will ask themselves that question, and 29 teams will be disappointed

Things are no different in Philadelphia. The Sixers are rebuilding, and have put themselves in prime position to make a run at LeBron.

Sound crazy? Not when you dig deep.

The Sixers are probably the worst team in the league right now, and LeBron is on a quest to win six-championships. Taking his talents from South Beach to Broad Street certainly does not seem to be the way to do that- on the surface at least.

LeBron will not make this decision without digging deep, with a team of people doing tons of research and projecting where the next best place to move "Team LeBron" to is. When that team does begin digging deeper, however, they might be surprised about what they find in Philadelphia. Here's why.

It should first be stated that LeBron has given no indication that he is going to leave Miami. So this entire premise is based off of something that might not happen. Miami could retool around LeBron and convince him to stay. Let's for a minute, however, pretend he decides to leave Miami.

If he does opt out of his deal though, it will be a circus all over again as LeBron visits with teams hoping to land arguably the best player of all time in his prime.

When searching for a potential landing spots, you have to think LeBron will be looking for a number of things. The checklist will probably look something like this

1) Ability to sign another top-notch free agent

2) Supporting cast

3) Money

4) Coaching

5) Franchise Stability/History

6) City

7) Facilities

Which teams best meet all of the above criteria?

There are some teams- like the New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers- that make sense for LeBron at quick glance. Those teams, however, have a combined $1 million dollars in cap space next season. A sign-and-trade is possible, but that would deplete the roster LeBron would be going there for. So those teams are off.

A quick look at the salary cap situation for all 32 teams next season shows that ten teams are projected to have more than $20 million in cap space before paying draft picks. Those teams are:

1) Sixers ($41 million)

2) Charlotte Bobcats ($34 million)

3) Cleveland Cavaliers ($32 million)

4) Dallas Mavericks ($37 million)

5) Detroit Pistons ($23 million)

6) Los Angeles Lakers ($50 million)

7) Orlando Magic ($36 million)

8) Phoenix Suns ($34 million)

9)Sacramento Kings ($32 million)

10) Utah Jazz ($55 million)

Other teams that are close include the Washington Wizards ($20 mil) and the Portland Trail Blazers (somewhere between $15-$20 mil), but it's hard to see James signing with either of those teams without another superstar coming with him- which neither could afford.

Out of the 10 teams listed above, it's safe to cross off the Bobcats, Pistons, Suns, Kings, Mavericks, Magic and Jazz. Of those teams, the Mavericks might have the best shot. Maybe James will shock the world, but it's just hard to see him in a Bobcats, Pistons, Suns, Kings, Magic or Jazz uniform next season.

That leaves us with two teams everybody is speculating he could sign with- Lakers and Cavaliers- and one team no one has, the Sixers.

Let's take a look at all three teams.

LAKERS: With the Lakers, James would have $50 million to work with. He could go to the Lakers and still have another $30 million (assuming he takes around $20 million) to build a roster of his choice from the remaining free agents. The free agency class next year is deep with role players, and players have shown they will take pay cuts to play with James. The Lakers could sign four or five good players with $30 million. The Lakers could also have a high draft pick this season. It's even possible that James pairs up with childhood friend Carmelo Anthony in L.A. if Anthony opts out of his deal with the Knicks.

One argument against the Lakers, however, is Kobe Bryant. It's hard to see the Lakers showing Kobe the door even if he is a free agent. Maybe Kobe convinces LeBron to play with him, but is that a situation LeBron wants to walk into? If Kobe stays, how much does he demand via salary, and how much does that hurt the salary cap? The Lakers are Kobe's team and Los Angeles is his town. It's hard to imagine LeBron ever changing that. The Kobe complication is definitely a roadblock to LeBron heading out west.

CAVALIERS:

The Cavaliers have a nice combination of young players on their roster to put around LeBron. They have young, blossoming players in Kyrie Irving, Anthony Bennett, Tristan Thompson and Dion Waiters. They would also have $32 million in cap space, giving LeBron another $12 million to bring in another top-tier free agent.

How willing LeBron would be to go back to Cleveland, however, is debatable. Maybe he wants to go back and try to win back the city, having already won three rings. He still have has a home there, and seems like the kind of guy who would care about his hometown hating him. On the other hand, however, LeBron has to wonder if he wants to re-open that wound. If he goes back to Cleveland and doesn't win, you would think his legacy takes a little hit- especially in Cleveland. He'll be the star that couldn't win it for them.

Either way, there is a ton of emotional baggage that comes along with Cleveland.

SIXERS:

Which brings us to the Sixers. Let's dig a little deeper, and look at the Sixers in terms of all seven of the above listed criteria.

1)

Ability to sign another top-notch free agent-

The Sixers will have roughly $31 million in salary cap space after they pay their top picks, giving them enough money to sign LeBron

and

bring whoever would have been willing to go to Cleveland with him. You also have to think that if LeBron was able to convince another player to join him for $12 million, that player would prefer Philadelphia over Cleveland, but as a life-long Philadelphia resident, my bias might be showing there. Regardless the Sixers present a ton of financial freedom for LeBron.

2)

Supporting cast

- What the Sixers have that no other team could offer Lebron, however, is four lottery pick players on cheap deals. The key to winning in the NBA is having a super star- but it is also having top talent at cap-friendly deals.

The Sixers will have Nerlens Noel, Michael Carter-Williams, likely a top-five pick, and potentially another lottery pick from a loaded 2014 Draft Class for a combined $15 million. Sure, they have to pan out as players. If they do tho, the Sixers can offer LeBron a top-notch defensive center, a 6-6 play making point guard, and one or two of the top prospects in a "can't miss" draft. All just beginning their career.

While we are knee-deep in hypotheticals, let's imagine the Sixers land Andrew Wiggins as nearly all mock drafts have them doing. Think LeBron wouldn't want to sign up to play with Wiggins for the next 10 years?

Players have to reach their potential quickly for this scenario to work out, but if they do, it's hard to see another team offering LeBron that kind of talent for that kind of money as he enters the second phase of his career.

3)

Money

- Like plenty of other teams, the Sixers could offer LeBron a massive deal while still signing another free agent, so hard to really give any team an edge here.

4)

Coaching/Franchise Stability/History

The Sixers have great history as an organization, far more than the Miami Heat or Cleveland Cavaliers do. They would lose to to the Lakers in this category, but signing with the Sixers is not the same as signing with say the Bobcats or Magic. There is legitimate history here, and Philadelphia is also deep in rich basketball history.

As for coaching and franchise stability, the Sixers actually have a very attractive combination at head coach and general manager. Sam Hinkie is well respected around the league and is a forward thinking general manager. Brett Brown served under Gregg Popovich for years, a coach LeBron greatly respects. The one question mark is the ownership, as Joshua Harris doesn't exactly give off the impression that he lives and dies with the Sixers. But compared to the Lakers disastrous ownership siutation, and the Cavaliers owner who wrote an entire letter bashing LeBron when he left Cleveland, Harris might be the best owner of the three by default.

It should also be noted that Sixers CEO Scott O'Neil was in the meetings when the Knicks tried to lure LeBron to New York three years ago. That can only help if they are able to somehow score a meeting with him.

5)

City

- If LeBron still has the Sixers on his list at this point, the rest might fall into place. Philadelphia is a great sports town, far better than Los Angeles or Miami. The Sixers would sell out every game with LeBron, and with the Phillies/Flyers on the downfall, might battle the Eagles for No. 1 in the city. In 2001, when the Sixers were good, they were 5th in the NBA in total attendance. The Sixers might be No. 4 right now, but fans have shown that they will come out and support the team.

True, Philadelphia doesn't have the warm weather an L.A. or Miami does. But when a guy can sail the south of France whenever he chooses, and grew up in Cleveland, you have to think he could get a nice jacket.

Other small fringe facts also favor Philadelphia. LeBrons' favorite player other than Michael Jordan growing up was Allen Iverson, who could tell LeBron what it's like to be loved by this city. LeBron has played at the Palestra, and came back two summers ago for a charity game there. He is producing a TV show based in Philadelphia. It's close to New York. Overall, the city itself could become a selling point.

6) Facilities- As for the facilities, there is no denying that the Sixers will have a hard time selling LeBron on PCOM. It's a joke that they practice at a small college. It's a safe bet that at this time next year, however, the Sixers will have either completed or be in the process of building a state-of-the-art practice facility.

So there is why LeBron could sign in Philadelphia. Are some of them stretches? Sure. Is there a ton of factors that could change between now and then? Absolutely.

But one thing is a fact: the Sixers are at least putting themselves in a position to be in the discussion, something a good portion of the league can't say.

Follow Eliot Shorr-Parks on Twitter at @EliotShorrParks