LeBron James has now been linked to the Philadelphia 76ers by two separate reports.
James was first listed amongst the 76ers’ free agent targets by The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Keith Pompey.
A day later, this report was backed up by another well respected reporter, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who has famously covered James since his high school days at St. Vincent–St. Mary.
Windhorst said that while the Lakers were in a strong position and that he would be surprised if James left LA, Philadelphia still had to be considered a “threat”.
“Daryl Morey has been trying to sign LeBron for a decade now,” Windhorst said on Get Up. “Multiple different opportunities, and of the teams that have a chance to win the championship next year, the only team with cap space that could offer LeBron and a max contract is the 76ers.”
Of course, it would likely take a lot to convince James to leave LA, and the 76ers’ pursuit of him has to be considered a longshot.
Philadelphia’s chances of landing him may come down to James’ belief in the team’s current stars, Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey, and whether or not he believes the Lakers can put a championship-level team around him.
From the 76ers’ perspective, all reports suggest they plan to be extremely aggressive in free agency and will pursue a number of big names, not just James.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, their other targets could include Jimmy Butler, Zach LaVine, Brandon Ingram and OG Anunoby.
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