The Philadelphia 76ers are getting a chance to pitch their process to LeBron James.

Representatives from the team will meet Sunday with James’ agent Rich Paul in Los Angeles http://www.panthersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-donte-jackson-jersey , a person familiar with the plans told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the talks.

James, who returned to Los Angeles from vacation Saturday before NBA free agency opened, will not take part in the meeting, the person said.

The Sixers can offer James a chance to play alongside budding, young stars Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid as well as stay in the Eastern Conference, where the path to the NBA Finals is far easier than out West.

Philadelphia hasn’t hid its desire to land James, a three-time champion who would instantly make the club a championship contender. Earlier this season, James was flattered when a Pennsylvania company paid for three billboards in Ohio urging James to come to Philadelphia, where the club has been abiding by a ”Trust The Process” mantra while rebuilding.

The 76ers’ contingent was to be led by their ownership group headed by Josh Harris and David Blitzer, a person with knowledge of the details told AP. The 76ers recently parted ways with general manager Bryan Colangelo and their basketball operations are currently being overseen by coach Brett Brown.

Paul also represents Simmons and James has been complimentary of the Rookie of the Year.

Earlier Sunday, James had contact with the Cleveland Cavaliers, who are hoping to hang onto the best player in franchise history.

Shortly after the 12:01 EDT a.m. start to free agency http://www.vikingsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-brian-o_neill-jersey , Cavs general manager Koby Altman spoke on the phone to both James and Paul, the person said.

James is also being pursued by the Lakers, who have enough salary-cap space to sign him and another star player.

While there was a feverish flurry of activity involving big-named players in the opening hour of what has been billed as the Summer of LeBron, James did not announce where he’ll play next season and it’s not known if other moves, such as Paul George staying in Oklahoma City and Chris Paul staying in Houston, have affected his thinking.

The meeting with the 76ers was first reported by ESPN.

James isn’t expected to drag his choice out over several days. He knows what he wants and he’s very familiar with the Cavaliers after leading them to four straight NBA Finals since returning as a free agent in 2014 following four seasons in Miami. Because they own his ”Bird rights” the Cavs can offer James more money than any other team – a five-year, $207 million deal.

But the 33-year-old has interests beyond basketball and the massive Los Angeles market would give him a bigger stage and platform.

The Lakers have a young, talented but inexperienced roster and they were hoping to land both James and possibly George. But the All-Star forward opted to stick with the Thunder and will sign a four-year deal when teams are permitted to finalize contracts on June 6.

George’s choice could sway James to sign a short-term deal with Cleveland, but the Lakers are determined to get their hands on the four-time MVP.

The Cavs, on the other hand, have been mostly operating in the dark. While there had been dialogue between Paul and Altman since the season ended, James had not given the team any sense of his plans. That’s made it tough for Cleveland to upgrade its roster http://www.coltsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-braden-smith-jersey , but the Cavs remain committed to bringing back James even for just one more year.

On Friday, James formally became a free agent when he informed the Cavs he would not exercise his $35.6 million contract option for next season, making him an unrestricted free agent and the prize catch in the 2018 class.

Now that some of the early dust has settled, the battle for him appears to be down to two teams: Cleveland vs. Los Angeles.

Home vs. Hollywood.

Wine-and-gold vs. Purple-and-gold.

But while the Cavs and Lakers appear to be the front-runners for James, the Sixers aren’t ready to give up the fight. Well, at least young and outspoken center Embiid isn’t.

Embiid posted a message on Twitter that seemed to be directed at No. 23 and what it might be like to walk in the footsteps of Lakers legends like Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Shaquille O’Neal.

”The Lakers are FOREVER gonna be Kobe’s and Magic’s team,” Embiid wrote, referring to Kobe Bryant and Johnson. ”Process that.”

George’s move has given James more to process Cheap Baker Mayfield Jersey , but the chance to restore Los Angeles to prominence may be just what he needs at this point in his career. And while he has long been compared to Michael Jordan, Johnson is the one whose game more closely resembles his own.

For now, though, he’s not attached to anyone.

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AP Sports Writer Dan Gelston in Philadelphia contributed to this report.

Back in the playoffs for the second straight year for the first time since 2003 and 2004, the Milwaukee Bucks can hardly afford a second straight slip-up when they face the New York Knicks on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden.

Two days after allowing the Brooklyn Nets to claw back from a fourth-quarter deficit, the Bucks head over the Brooklyn Bridge to square off with a Knicks squad that rebounded from a 73-point performance with a 122-98 win over Miami on Friday night. Before the game, the Knicks were the coldest team in the Eastern Conference, losers of four straight.

And speaking of cold: The Bucks had better heat up in a hurry after shooting 25 percent from 3-point range against the Nets in the 119-111 loss.

“We couldn’t shoot it in the ocean,” Bucks forward Jabari Parker said. “They did a really good job, though, you got to put your hands up to them.”

The Bucks hardly did that on defense against the woeful Nets, allowing Brooklyn to shoot 48 percent from 3-point range in the loss.

With the Bucks having an outside chance at the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs http://www.chargersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-justin-jones-jersey , now is no time for Milwaukee to get lazy on defense.

“This would not be good enough to win a game in the playoffs,” Bucks coach Joe Prunty said. “I’m not worried about the playoffs right now. … We need to play very good basketball regardless of our opponent and tonight is an example of (not playing well enough).”

In the Knicks, the Bucks find a team with any postseason hopes long in the rear-view mirror. The Knicks are out of the playoffs for the fifth straight year and, if anything, the team appears to be playing for better lottery odds.

Too bad they dealt themselves too good a hand on Friday.

A 24-point win over the Heat put the Knicks a game behind the Chicago Bulls for the eighth-worst record in the NBA, and every lottery ping-pong ball matters.

“If you ask any of the players or coaches, that’s not (a thought),” Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek told reporters early this week. “We’ve said it all along that that’s not what we’re trying to do. With the guys out there, we’re trying to win the game, and that’s what we want from them.”

The two teams will meet for the fourth time in nine weeks, with Milwaukee claiming a 3-0 lead in the season series. The Bucks beat New York 92-90 at home on Feb. 2 and followed four days later with a 103-89 road win. A little over a month later, the Bucks again won at home Kareem Martin Color Rush Jersey , 120-112, behind Khris Middleton’s 30 points. Middleton has kicked up his scoring of late, scoring 31 against the Nets, six days after producing 28 points in a 124-122 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

After Saturday’s matchup, the Knicks close their season with a home-and-home against the Cleveland Cavaliers, beginning Monday at Madison Square Garden for the final time this season before heading to Cleveland on Wednesday to wrap up the campaign.

Milwaukee hosts Orlando on Monday before heading to Philadelphia to play the 76ers on Wednesday for the Bucks’ final regular-season game.

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