Maxey Leads 76ers Communications With LeBron James

Tyrese Maxey has led communications between the Philadelphia 76ers and LeBron James, with Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown also in contact, ESPN reported Tuesday. The 25-year-old Maxey, a Klutch Sports client, has trained with James in the offseason for several years and has referred to him as a big brother.

Embiid won the 2022-23 NBA MVP award and won a gold medal with James for Team USA at the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Brown received an MVP endorsement from James in February. "He's playing great basketball, man," James said of Brown at the time. "This whole MVP thing, I don't understand why his name is not getting talked about some as well.

James also praised Philadelphia fans after scoring 12 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter on 5-for-6 shooting to lead the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-108 win over the 76ers last December. "One thing you know about Philly fans, they don't care about anybody besides their home teams and I respect and I love that," James said.

League sources told ESPN's Shams Charania that the 76ers remain one of the top potential destinations for James, along with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat.

Bob Myers, president of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, which owns the 76ers, said on the Game Over podcast that Philadelphia offers James his best chance to win. "If he was here I'd say, 'I honestly believe this is your best chance to win. You have to decide all the other things that are equally important,'" Myers said.

"What I would just say is, if it's about winning, let's talk about this team. " Sixers president of basketball operations Mike Gansey said Monday the team has held conversations with James' agent Rich Paul since acquiring Brown. "LeBron and his camp have kept quiet, and there has been speculation for different teams," Gansey said.