A day after making a stunning move to acquire star wing Jaylen Brown, the Philadelphia 76ers have turned their attention to an even bigger target: unrestricted free agent LeBron James. League sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania on Thursday that Philadelphia has entered the race and is working to make its pitch to the four-time NBA champion.
The 76ers are not alone. The Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat are also known to be pursuing James, who is expected to move deliberately as he weighs where to continue his historic 23-year NBA career, sources told Charania.
Philadelphia’s interest comes on the heels of a major roster shake-up. On Wednesday, the Sixers agreed to send veteran wing Paul George, two first-round picks and two second-round selections to the Boston Celtics in exchange for Brown, sources told Charania. Brown, 29, is coming off a standout season in which he finished sixth in MVP voting after averaging 28.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists across 71 games.
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The addition of Brown, paired with Thursday morning’s free agency agreement with scoring guard Anfernee Simons, gives Philadelphia the kind of high-end roster boost that could appeal to James. He has made it clear that his next decision will be shaped by both personal happiness and the opportunity to compete for championships at the highest level.
Golden State, meanwhile, remains firmly in the picture. James has given the Warriors indications that they are still on his short list, though team sources have recently come away with the sense that they may not currently be at the very top as he continues to evaluate his options.
The Warriors do still have possible routes to create enough flexibility to offer James the $15.1 million non-taxpayer midlevel exception. However, that path has grown more complicated following their recent additions of Kristaps Porzingis and De’Anthony Melton.
Cleveland could also face financial hurdles in any pursuit of James and may need to move midtier contracts, including the deals of Max Strus and Dennis Schroder, to create additional room. As things currently stand, Philadelphia is limited to offering James the veteran minimum, which is worth roughly $3.9 million.
