Sixers among teams that appear to be in lead in LeBron James sweepstakes, report says
The Philadelphia 76ers are among the three teams that appear to be in the lead in the LeBron James sweepstakes, according to a new report Tuesday night.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported that the Sixers, Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat appear to be in the lead to sign the NBA's all-time scoring leader.
"The teams that continue to come up are Cleveland, Miami and Philadelphia. ... When the Sixers got Jaylen Brown, I did some research and [James] is taking their pitch very seriously. When I talk to teams now, I have a hierarchy of Cleveland, Miami, Philadelphia and then some teams on the periphery," Charania said on "Straight Shooter with Stephen A." on SiriusXM.
James became a free agent last week when he informed the Los Angeles Lakers he wouldn't return after eight seasons with the franchise.
Of the three teams mentioned by Charania, the Sixers are the only team that James hasn't played for in his 23-year NBA career.
James began his career with his hometown Cavaliers and had two stints with the team, where he won an NBA Finals in 2016. In Miami, James won the two first championships of his career when the formed a "Big Three" with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Philadelphia would be a new team for James, but he does have some ties to the organization.
New Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey, an Ohio native, finished second in Mr. Basketball voting behind James in high school.
Rich Paul, James' agent, spoke highly of Gansey, Jameer Nelson, the executive vice president of basketball operations for the Sixers, and the organization on his podcast last week.
The Sixers reportedly started pursuing James after landing Brown in a blockbuster deal with the Boston Celtics in exchange for Paul George and draft picks.
James, even at 41 years old, would make sense basketball-wise for the Sixers. He would slide into the power forward spot in the team's startling line with Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, Brown and Joel Embiid.
James made his 22nd All-Star team last season and averaged 20.9 points, 7.2 assists and 6.1 rebounds in 60 games.
The Sixers pursued James when he was a free agent in 2018, and only time will tell if he heads to Philly this time.
