New LeBron James Rumors Reveal 76ers, Nuggets, Wolves Belief in NBA Icon Signing Free-Agent Contract

The Philadelphia 76ers, Denver Nuggets and Minnesota Timberwolves all believe they are firmly in the race to sign free agent superstar LeBron James, per NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer.

"The Sixers, Nuggets and Timberwolves, league sources say, all still believe that they are in this race to some degree and getting legitimate consideration from James and his camp alongside the Cavaliers, Warriors and Heat. On his latest Game Over podcast with Max Kellerman, Paul certainly spoke glowingly of the Anthony Edwards-led Timberwolves and their coach Chris Finch."

The latest edition of the Game Over podcast featuring Max Kellerman and Klutch Sports founder and CEO Rich Paul, James' agent, showcased a whiteboard that listed some potential candidates for James' next team.

For what it's worth, five teams were featured more prominently on the board than the others: the Cleveland Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Timberwolves, Nuggets and 76ers.

There's reason for the aforementioned trio of teams to believe they have a shot at James, then.

For starters, all three squads are competitive teams.

Minnesota and Philadelphia just reached the second round of the playoffs.

The Timberwolves just added Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo Ball, although they did lose forward Julius Randle via trade to the Brooklyn Nets. Still, they have a loaded starting lineup, and James can slide in alongside Ball, Anthony Edwards, Jaden McDaniels and Rudy Gobert.

The 76ers just swapped Jaylen Brown, an All-NBA Second Teamer, for Paul George. James would fit in at the 4 alongside Brown, Joel Embiid, VJ Edgecombe and Tyrese Maxey. That would easily be one of the NBA's best starting lineups.

Adding James to the Nuggets would partner the four-time NBA champion with three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić. That's an incredible duo in itself, but they'd be flanked by Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon to form an incredible core four. Denver earned the Western Conference's No. 3 seed last year but lost to Minnesota in the first round.

All three teams offer great options to James from a basketball standpoint. The three teams, right now, are contenders for the championship, so they are certainly worth consideration as James looks for his fifth NBA title.