Tony Jones: Per league sources, Joel Embiid was a heavy figure in LeBron's recruitment, and that recruitment lasted throughout the process
More on Joel Embiid: Recent HoopsHype Rumors
Dean Oliver: Usages last year: LeBron: 27% Maxey: 29% Edgecombe: 19% Brown: 35% Embiid: 32% Total: 142% That ought to be interesting. — 7/24/2026 x.com
Meanwhile, a trio of Sixers players -- Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and the newly acquired Jaylen Brown, another surprising addition for Philadelphia this offseason -- worked on James directly, sources told ESPN. That effort was led by Maxey, a fellow Klutch client who has referred to James as a "big brother" in the past. — 7/24/2026 ESPN
Grant Hill: 'Contrary to popular belief, I do like Jaylen Brown. I love his game, and things got difficult there with
that team. In putting the team together, just to give some context, we had Kawhi Leonard on that penciled in on that team, and he got hurt at the end of that season in 2024. He came to camp, he wasn't right, and so we had to pivot. A couple of things happened at that camp, and people want to believe what they want to believe, but at the end of the day, Kevin Durant showed up, he was hurt. He had a grade one calf strain, and I think we all have PTSD from the last time he had a calf strain, so we were very patient with him. Jayson Tatum had just had a baby, so he showed up late. Joel Embiid was, you know, we knew we were managing him, but we needed him for Nikola Jokic against Serbia, because that was the matchup. We didn't have our full roster, and then we started looking around and saying, oh man, like Jrue Holiday was so important for us in the FIBA game. A point guard who can play his role, ball pressure, the whole nine. If Jrue got hurt, our point guards were Jrue Holiday and Stephen Curry, and defense wasn't necessarily their strong point. It was like, okay, let's bring in insurance for Jrue Holiday and like Derrick White. So that was the thought process.' — 7/22/2026 YouTube
The source also confirmed that Harris – along with Sixers players Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown – have all let James know that they would love to have him join the team and that the city of Philadelphia would welcome him with open arms. — 7/19/2026 NBC Philadelphia
John Clark: A source says Sixers owner Josh Harris was able to have a brief, friendly conversation with LeBron James yesterday at a VIP event at Fanatics Fest in New York I’m told Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid, Jaylen Brown, and owner Josh Harris have let LeBron know they would love to have him join the team and the city of Philly would welcome him to the Sixers with open arms The Sixers are reportedly one of the final teams in the running for LeBron — 7/18/2026 x.com
As LeBron James' free agency decision extends into its second week, the Philadelphia 76ers have kept up their pursuit of the four-time champion through three of their players, league sources told ESPN. Tyrese Maxey, Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown have all been in communication with James, sources told ESPN on Tuesday, with Maxey leading the charge. — 7/14/2026 ESPN
Yet, even with that deep familiarity, sources close to the situation indicate that while LeBron James has seriously considered Philadelphia, the fit alongside Embiid remains a massive, unresolved concern. In fact, whispers out of Philly indicate that if the 76ers want to secure LeBron, the pairing with Embiid is a non-starter; the preference would be to avoid playing them together entirely. Furthermore, sources reveal that on the Embiid side, James harbors deep concerns regarding Embiid’s long-term health and declining mobility for an arduous championship run. — 7/13/2026 ScoopB.com
Tony Jones: A source tells me the report that Joel Embiid and Jaylen Brown have not spoken is inaccurate. “The two of them have spoken” the source said. Brown was recently traded to the 76ers for Paul George and picks — 7/13/2026 x.com
Despite the Philadelphia 76ers having already completed a blockbuster trade this offseason, Bill Simmons teased the possibility that they could trade star center Joel Embiid. "I think they're going to trade Joel Embiid and I think they want to. I think he's available, I think teams think he's available and I think Philly has been pretty careful about saying 'we're so excited to build around Embiid, Jaylen, Maxey and VJ. You haven't heard a lot about that," Simmons said on the latest episode of The Bill Simmons podcast. — 7/10/2026 BasketNews
The one player we didn't hear from was Joel Embiid. The former MVP didn't have a social media post greeting Brown nor did we hear anything about the two stars interacting. Some folks ran with the idea of Embiid being upset or him not being long for Philadelphia. Gansey poured cold water on that as a guest on 97.5 The Fanatic Thursday afternoon: "He's excited. He's in a really good space right now. First offseason where he is really healthy going into it… He's fired up. I called him right after the trade, and he is excited. Surprised, but he was excited… It's obviously going to be a big change, but I think they're welcoming it and they're kind of excited to get the group together." — 7/9/2026 Yahoo! Sports
This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: Joel Embiid was a 'heavy figure' in recruiting LeBron James to Philadelphia
