LeBron, Jaylen Brown's Impact on VJ Edgecombe Addressed by NBA Coach amid Concerns in 76ers Rumors

The Philadelphia 76ers are expected to contend for an NBA championship after adding stars LeBron James and Jaylen Brown this offseason, but some wonder whether one of their top young players will have to take on a reduced role.

According to ESPN's Ramona Shelburne, two Sixers sources "pointed out the potential disruption to the development of VJ Edgecombe, who showed flashes during his rookie season of the kind of potential to lead his own team one day." However, one NBA coach "countered that Edgecombe will learn far more from Brown and James than he will be stunted by them."

"It's not like this team is going to stay healthy all year," the coach added. "The young guys will probably have to carry the load in the regular season anyway."

Edgecombe is coming off a stellar rookie season in which he averaged 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 1.4 steals across 75 games. He finished third in the voting for Rookie of the Year and was named to the All-Rookie first team.

While Edgecombe found a way to thrive while playing alongside two high-usage players in star point guard Tyrese Maxey and center Joel Embiid, adding James and Brown to the mix will take the ball out of his hands even more. Still, the soon-to-be 21-year-old is known for his two-way impact, so he should have no problems finding ways to contribute.

As for how James fits in with the new-look Sixers, the coach told Shelburne that he expects a seamless transition.

"Honestly, LeBron is the guy who just proved the best that he's capable of playing a different role," the coach said. "None of those other guys has ever really done it."

The expectation is that James can help elevate Edgecombe, Maxey, Brown and Embiid similar to how he impacted his teammates during his prime years.

"If this goes well, none of those five guys are going to average career highs," the coach said. "They're all going to play a different role than they have in the past or maybe that they want to. So the most important thing is going to be getting everyone to buy in. Getting everyone to forget about how the stats affect their contracts or reputations."