Rumors

There's a belief that the Sixers entered the picture only because former Warriors executive Bob Myers helped swing a blockbuster trade for Jaylen Brown on July 1, boosting the supporting cast and luring James to look in their direction. Several days prior, the Boston Celtics called the Warriors about Brown near the draft, league sources said, testing Golden State's temperature about a trade for four first-round picks and another first-round swap in an effort to beef up the Celtics' own offer to Milwaukee for Giannis Antetokounmpo.

ESPN

Since Myers’s departure in 2023, Lacob has consolidated more power over personnel decisions—and his fear of what life after Steph will be like for the Warriors has been the biggest reason the team has opted not to exchange more future draft picks for immediate help.

The Ringer

Paul told The Athletic he had been trying to get Myers to come on the podcast for months; the invitation was not specifically tied to addressing James’ free agency. The 76ers, team sources said, had thought about the potential downside of Myers’ pitch being viewed as groveling publicly. But the upside of Myers — and his four rings from Golden State — speaking directly to Paul outweighed the potential minuses.

New York Times

Rich Paul told The Athletic he had been trying to get Bob Myers to come on the podcast for months; the invitation was not specifically tied to addressing James’ free agency. The 76ers, team sources said, had thought about the potential downside of Myers’ pitch being viewed as groveling publicly. But the upside of Myers — and his four rings from Golden State — speaking directly to Paul outweighed the potential minuses. “Bob Myers going on Rich Paul’s podcast was brilliant,” a coach for one of the other teams pursuing James told The Athletic. Myers’ appearance with Paul happened July 8 — 16 days before James made the final call.

New York Times

Heat Central: “The Sixers were not even in the picture, on the map, until Bob Myers traded for Jaylen Brown… LeBron looked at that roster, he looked at the Cavs roster, he looked at the Heat roster and he is choosing the Philadelphia 76ers”

x.com

Is Paul setting up a “Hunger Games”-style competition for James’ services, with executives from each potential suitor joining him on set over a period of six weeks, with the winner to be announced by Paul and James on the same show some time before the start of fall training camp? The answer is no, according to multiple league sources with direct knowledge of James’ free agency, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private scheduling and broadcast plans. Myers’ appearance on the show was planned before James’ free agency began.

New York Times

Bob Myers didn’t mind laying out a case for the Sixers, who feel they’ve seriously strengthened their team by trading for Jaylen Brown. They’ve also drafted Labaron Philon Jr. and signed Dean Wade, Anfernee Simons and Ariel Hukporti. “When you’re talking about the Sixers, 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.’ It’s his life, right? He has to play. He has to face the scrutiny of his decision,” Myers said. “Half the people will say, ‘You should’ve done this’ or ‘You should’ve done that’ and criticize him for whatever. It’s his life; he’s been through all that. What I would just say is, ‘If it’s about winning, let’s talk about this team, because you can win here in Philadelphia.’”

NBC Sports Philadelphia

Bob Myers, the president of sports for Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, openly discussed LeBron James’ free agency on the “Game Over” podcast with Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul and Max Kellerman. Paul had named the Sixers as a potential destination for James on a previous podcast.

NBC Sports Philadelphia

Along with his on-court tools and exceptional basketball intelligence, Myers praised the veteran wisdom James carries at 41 years old. “I think a lot of players, when they make it to the (NBA) Finals or get deep, because they’re people, there’s an anxiety to that,” Myers said. “It’s like, ‘Oh my God, this is high level.’ … What a guy like LeBron does, if you’re on that team as a player, you’re going to look over at him and he’ll be like, ‘I’ve done this 10 times.’ You can walk over to him and go, ‘What did you do?’ … That’s also underrated.”

NBC Sports Philadelphia

NBA Hoops: Bob Myers defends Jaylen Brown after Max Kellerman said analytics don’t favor him. Myers points out, “You know who else analytics didn’t favor? Klay Thompson. Analytics doesn’t value the nuances of the game like shutting down the opposing teams best player

x.com

Heat Central: 76ers president Bob Myers makes his case to LeBron/Rich Paul on why he should join the Sixers: “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’ — What I would just say is, if it’s about winning, let’s talk about this team. Because you can win here in Philadelphia” (Via Game Over)

x.com

Paul added that an "X factor" for Philadelphia is its front office featuring executive vice president of basketball operations Jameer Nelson -- who was a contemporary of James, playing together on the All-Star team and against one another in the playoffs -- and president of basketball operations Mike Gansey -- who played against James in high school and was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers' front office during James' second stint with the franchise. Paul also said he and James "love" the Sixers' leadership, including managing partner Josh Harris and former Warriors GM Bob Myers.

ESPN

The lively draft-room scene broadcast nationally while the Warriors were on the clock was, according to multiple sources, actually Dunleavy and Joe Lacob brushing off a moderate offer to move out of the slot.

San Francisco Standard

Austin Krell: Bob Myers was asked if the Sixers will make 3p shooting and rebounding points of emphasis this summer. "For sure." Myers went on to mention that defensive rebounding, specifically, was an area of concern.

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