LeBron James is in Los Angeles and so are representatives of the Philadelphia 76ers, but that doesn’t mean the two sides will be hanging out.
James officially hit free agency at midnight on Sunday morning, and he immediately got into contact with Cleveland Cavaliers. James won’t be meeting with the Cavs directly, though, and that seems to be the case with the Sixers as well.
Though representatives for the Sixers are in the area, James will let his agents meet with their crew as they try to lure LeBron to Philadelphia. That’s according to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who clarified that while the Sixers will meet with James’ agents, LeBron himself will be staying away.
For today's meeting, Sixers will meet with LeBron James' reps, sources tell ESPN. James will not attend this meeting. https://t.co/KJGS0xp5Yy
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2018
While that lack of face time might seem like bad news for Sixers fans hoping to land James, the Sixers do feel they have an extra edge in free agency right now in that they can still get Kawhi Leonard to Philly.
Among the Sixers' planned top selling points to LeBron James' agent Rich Paul today: Philly believes it still has a real chance to win the Kawhi Leonard trade sweepstakes, league sources say
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 1, 2018
That would actually put them over the Lakers right now, as LA and the Spurs seem to have had their trade talks cool recently. The Sixers are clearly serious about competing right now, and their ownership group is involved in the pitch to James’ people. Hopefully they relay the message the Sixers want him to hear, though, because whatever they say will be coming to James secondhand.
