Sam Amick, USA TODAY Published 3:31 p.m. ET July 1, 2018 | Updated 5:09 p.m. ET July 1, 2018
Responses were varied but one Los Angeles athlete feels confident LeBron will NOT be coming to his city next season. USA TODAY Sports
So much for the prospect of LeBron James going to the Lakers being a foregone conclusion.
Only hours after free agency started, might there be some second-guessing going on inside James’ mind when it comes to the widely held notion that he's determined to head for Los Angeles? A person with knowledge of the situation confirmed that James’ agent, Rich Paul, was scheduled to meet with Philadelphia on Sunday in Los Angeles.
The 76ers, owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer, as well as coach/acting general manager Brett Brown were also expected to take part. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of the meeting.
The Sixers possibility has always been compelling from a basketball standpoint, as the idea of combining James with young stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid would instantly make them favorites in the Eastern Conference. Add in the fact that Philadelphia is known to be pondering a way to land Kawhi Leonard from San Antonio via trade, and this could wind up being the super team of James’ dreams.
The key question, of course, is whether James believes this is a good enough fit off the court. Does his wife, Savannah, want to relocate their family to the city of Brotherly Love? And how might Philadelphia fit when it comes to all of James’ off-court business ventures? Those are the kinds of questions that could be addressed by Paul during this meeting.
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This Sixers development comes on the heels of Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman speaking by phone to James and Paul when free agency began at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Sunday, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports' Jeff Zillgitt. As early signs go, it could have been much worse for the incumbents. It’s unclear whether James or Paul have communicated with the Lakers, but the New York Times on Sunday refuted reports that there had been a dinner between James and top executive Magic Johnson.
And so, the waiting game continues.
But when it comes to the widely held belief that the Lakers needed to add at least one star to convince James to come, that all those years of free agency failings under Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss would become distant memories once July 1 arrived, it’s quite clear that the first day was a flop.
They not only missed out on Palmdale, Calif. native Paul George, but failed to even land a meeting with the 28-year-old who decided to stay put in Oklahoma City after years of discussion about his possible homecoming. Ditto for Chris Paul, the best friend of James who is re-signing in Houston after months of speculation that he might make a stunning Rockets exit in order to join James with the Lakers.
Meanwhile, a person with knowledge of the situation said there was no progress on a possible Leonard trade between the Lakers and Spurs as of mid-day Sunday. The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation. Even if this sort of deal went down, it would likely cost the Lakers so much of their young core – think Brandon Ingram, Kyle Kuzma and Josh Hart, all likely gone – that it’d be fair to wonder what the supporting cast might look like.
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The DeMarcus Cousins possibility is intriguing. James once called the 27-year-old “the best big man in our game” and the Lakers have long been intrigued with the possibility of adding the mercurial star.
But Cousins is also coming off an Achilles tendon tear suffered in late January, when his New Orleans season was ended and all those unavoidable questions surfaced about whether he’d ever be the same player again.
“Thoughts out to @boogiecousins! Hope you good big fella.,” James tweeted that day.
Six months later, with James clearly exploring his options and hope remaining for several teams, it’s the Lakers who might want to start using those prayer hands.
Follow USA TODAY Sports' Sam Amick on Twitter.
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