[ad_1]
The Philadelphia 76ers seemingly have a chance to start their process at LeBron James.
According to several reports, representatives of the team will meet Sunday with James Rich Paul's agent in Los Angeles. James, however, will not be at this meeting.
Here's more of ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski on the meeting and what's getting ready for James and the Sixers:
A top 76ers from Philadelphia meet LeBron James's agent, Rich Paul, on Sunday in Los Angeles, league sources told ESPN
James should not attend the meeting, which is the first major chance for the 76ers to make a free agent record to James, league sources I said. The property and possibly interim president of basketball operations / coach Brett Brown are expected to lead the meeting with James' representatives, the sources said.
The Sixers have the ability to sign a maximum annual salary of $ 35.6 million. Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, the young stars of the NBA
For the Sixers to land on James, they would need a creative work to create the necessary salary cap space to add, writes Joe Cleveland Vardon.com:
The Sixers do not have quite the space needed to pay James a maximum salary ($ 35.6 million next season), but could have it. erase without much trouble if James wanted to make his way.
The most Philadelphia or any team in addition to the Cavs could give James a four year contract worth about $ 153 million. The Cavs can offer James a five year deal worth about $ 206 million.
Any suggestion, however, that this meeting between James's representatives and the Sixers in favor should perhaps be dispelled. Keith Pompey of Philly.com reports that James has a real interest in joining Philadelphia:
Sources have said that this is not a mandatory meeting with James' representatives. The free agent is really interested in playing for the Sixers, according to the source. The striker would like to play alongside center star Joel Embiid and playmaker Ben Simmons, rookie of the year. He is also impressed by coach Brett Brown and the ultra-modern Sixers facility. And by coming to Philly, James believes that he would have a chance to play in his ninth consecutive NBA Finals.
According to sources, the Sixers did not come out of James' free-living hunt. Now, things could change if the Lakers are able to negotiate for Kawhi Leonard, the star striker of San Antonio Spurs, twice
. Under this scenerio, James would probably like to play alongside Leonard. However, sources have said that the Sixers are still looking for Leonard
The New York Times 'Marc Stein reports (19459008) via Twitter ) that the Sixers believe they still have a real chance, as well, of landing Leonard unhappy.
According to the Associated Press Tom Withers and Dave McMenamin of ESPN, the Cleveland Cavaliers spoke with James when the free NBA agency opened at 12: 01 ET Sunday. According to reports, Cavs' chief executive, Koby Altman, spoke on the phone to James and his agent Rich Paul
Per Vardon, a source close to James said that James would not attend any of these initial meetings with teams. 19659002] While there was a feverish wave of activity involving big name players in the opening hours of what was billed as the summer of LeBron, James He has not announced where he will play next season and it is unclear whether other movements, such as Paul George staying in Oklahoma City and Chris Paul staying in Houston, have influenced his thinking.
The Sixers can give James a chance to play alongside aspiring young stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid. where the way to the NBA finals is a lot easier than to the West.
Philadelphia did not hide his desire to land James, a triple champion who would instantly make the club a contender for the championship. Earlier this season, James was flattered when a Pennsylvania company paid three billboards in Ohio, urging James to come to Philadelphia, where the club respected a "Trust The Mantra" Process "while rebuilding.
One does not expect James to drag his choice over several days. He knows what he wants and he is very familiar with the Cavaliers after leading them to four consecutive NBA finals since returning as a free agent in 2014 after four seasons in Miami. Because they own his "bird rights", the Cavs can offer James more money than any other team – a $ 207 million contract over five years.
But the 33-year-old has interests other than basketball.
The Lakers have a young, talented but inexperienced formation and they hoped to land James and possibly George. But striker All-Star has chosen to stay with the Thunder and sign a four-year contract when teams will be allowed to enter into contracts on June 6th.
George may choose to sign a short-term contract with Cleveland, but the Lakers are determined to get their hands on the MVP four times.
The Cavs, in turn, operated mainly in the dark. Although there has been a dialogue between Paul and Altman since the end of the season, James had not given the team an idea of his plans. This has made it difficult for Cleveland to improve his lineup, but the Cavs remain committed to bringing James back for another year.
On Friday, James officially became a free agent when he informed the Cavs that he would not exercise his $ 35.6. A million option contract for next season, making him an unrestricted free agent and prize-winner in the 2018 clbad.
Now that some of the first shoots have stabilized, the battle for him seems to be reduced to two teams: Cleveland vs. Los Angeles.
against Hollywood.
Wine and gold against Violet and gold.
But while the Cavs and Lakers seem to be first for James, the Sixers are not ready to give up the fight. Well, at least young and straightforward center Embiid is not.
Embiid posted a post on Twitter that appeared to be directed to number 23 and what it might be to walk in the footsteps of Lakers legends like Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain Wilt, Jerry West and Shaquille O & # 39; Neal.
"The Lakers are ALWAYS the team of Kobe and Magic," wrote Embiid, referring to Kobe Bryant and Johnson. "Treat that."
George's move has given James more time for the process, but the chance to restore Los Angeles to the point of importance may be just what he needs at this stage of his career. And although he has long been compared to Michael Jordan, Johnson is the one whose game looks more like his own.
For the moment, however, he is not attached to anyone.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
* * *
East Player Movement | Movement of players from the West | Free Agent Tracker
[ad_2]
Source link