A high-level Philadelphia 76ers contingent is meeting with LeBron James' agent, Rich Paul, on Sunday in Los Angeles, league sources told ESPN.
James isn't expected to attend the meeting, which is the first significant chance for the 76ers to make a free-agent pitch to James, league sources said. Ownership and possibly interim president of basketball operations/coach Brett Brown are expected to lead the meeting with James' representatives, sources said.
The Sixers have the ability to offer James a $38.25 million annual maximum salary over four years, potentially partnering him with two of the NBA's best young stars, Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.
The 76ers have also been engaged in talks with the San Antonio Spurs on a potential Kawhi Leonard trade, and so far, they have kept three players off-limits in talks, team sources told ESPN: Embiid, Simmons and Markelle Fultz.
The Spurs have been pursuing a package for Leonard that combines future assets and players who can help them stay a playoff team in the present. The Sixers have shown a willingness to trade for Leonard without a promise that he'd re-sign with them in 2019, when he'd be able to opt out of his contract. Leonard has been at odds with the Spurs for months and asked for a trade, preferably to the Los Angeles Lakers.
Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman spoke to both James and Paul on the phone when NBA free agency officially opened at 12:01 a.m. ET Sunday, sources told ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
James' camp and the Cavaliers' front office have maintained a dialogue since the season ended, sources said. Paul informed the Cavs on Friday morning that the four-time MVP would not opt in to the final year of his contract; James was scheduled to make $35.6 million in 2018-19.
James was on a plane that flew into Van Nuys Airport near Los Angeles on Saturday. James flew from the Caribbean island of Anguilla and landed in Van Nuys just after 11 a.m. PT. His reason for being there is unknown. The Lakers are considered strong candidates to sign James, but he also has an offseason home in L.A.
The Cavs can offer James significantly more money -- $207 million over five years, compared to $153 million over four years -- than the Lakers and 76ers.