The Philadelphia 76ers are making their position on LeBron James impossible to miss.
With the 41-year-old star still drawing attention across the league this offseason, the Sixers are staying firmly in the conversation. On Monday, July 13, it was reported that the Golden State Warriors believe the Cleveland Cavaliers are the favorites to land him. Mike Gansey, Philadelphia’s President of Basketball Operations, isn’t treating that as a reason to back off.
“There has been speculation for different teams, but we’d obviously love to have LeBron,” Gansey told The Athletic on July 13.
Gansey didn’t stop there. He called James “the best player of all time” and said, “I think his decision is dragging out because he has a lot of good options and he wants to figure it out.
He would obviously add a lot to our team. But at the end of the day, I know he’s going to make the right decision for him and his family.”
Philadelphia is also showing its hand in more public ways. Bob Myers, Gansey’s new mentor, appeared on Rich Paul’s podcast to make a direct pitch. Gansey, meanwhile, suggested he has stayed in regular contact with Paul and pointed back to his own time working with James in Cleveland.
“Those years I had with him in Cleveland were incredible,” Gansey told The Athletic.
That connection matters, even if the Sixers don’t have the same history with James that Cleveland or Miami does. The Cavaliers have 11 years of past experience with him, while the Heat had four. Golden State never had him on the roster, though the California setting gives the Warriors an easier path than some of the other suitors.
Still, Philadelphia has enough going for it to keep itself in the hunt. Between Gansey’s familiarity with James, the openness of the front office, and what appears to be real interest from Tyrese Maxey and the rest of the roster, the Sixers are making sure their name stays in the mix.
In Other News...
Kevin Durant Just Put A Powerful Label On The New-Look Sixers
Kevin Durant was in Philadelphia for the MLB All-Star event, and he had a pretty clear read on the 76ers new direction after their trade for Jaylen Brown. Durant described the revamped roster as dangerous, a label that carries some weight coming from a player who has spent years sizing up contenders from every angle. He also sounded genuinely upbeat about Brown getting a fresh start in a city that tends to make its feelings known one way or the other.
Durants comments fit the moment around the Sixers, who are trying to turn a major roster swing into something that looks more than just bold on paper. He also took a detour into the broader league conversation when asked about LeBron James free agency, saying he had no idea where James would land while acknowledging the Lakers star will keep producing at a high level. For Philadelphia, though, the more immediate takeaway was Durants belief that this new version of the team has real bite, and that the fan base will be right there to amplify it. [Read more 🡒]
Draymond Green Just Sent Sixers Fans A Message They Needed
Draymond Green took aim at a familiar NBA talking point this week, pushing back on the idea that different off-court lives automatically mean there is real friction between teammates. His point was simple enough for Philadelphia fans to understand: chemistry is not always built on constant contact away from the floor, and players can operate in the same locker room without being close friends.
For a Sixers team that has lived through its own share of relationship drama, the reminder landed in a place that probably felt familiar. Green pointed to the Joel Embiid-Ben Simmons era as an example of how off-court differences can become a Philadelphia storyline without fully defining what happens in games, and he also used his long-running bond with Stephen Curry to show that even elite teammates do not need to spend every summer in each others pockets to make it work. [Read more 🡒]
Hawks Suddenly Pulled Into A Joel Embiid Debate They Cannot Ignore
The Joel Embiid conversation has a way of pulling other teams into the frame, and Atlanta is the latest to get dragged into the exercise. Any serious look at a deal involving the 76ers star starts with the same uncomfortable backdrop: the injuries have piled up, the contract is massive, and the question is no longer just what Embiid can still give Philadelphia, but how long the team can keep betting on his body holding up.
For the Hawks, the appeal is obvious enough to make the debate unavoidable. A proposal built around Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher and Corey Kispert would ask Atlanta to part with defense, upside and shooting in one swing, while taking on the kind of star power that can reshape a franchise in an instant. It is the sort of hypothetical that forces both front offices to weigh present value against future flexibility, even if the real answer remains tucked behind the speculation. [Read more 🡒]