Executives around the NBA believe the Philadelphia 76ers will attempt to sign LeBron James in free agency.

James is widely expected to become a free agent in 2018 though his eventual destination remains a speculative mystery. While James has also been linked to the Los Angeles Lakers, signing with the 76ers would give James the opportunity to stay in the Eestern Conference and avoid teams like the Warriors, Rockets and Spurs.

The 76ers could fairly easily create enough salary cap space to sign James to a max contract starting at $34 million.

The 76ers would give James the opportunity to play with a talented young roster anchored by Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.

James and Simmons share an agent in Rich Paul.

“The organization has done a great job believing in Brett Brown’s system, believing in what he wanted to do and they gave him time,” James said before the Cavaliers beat the Sixers 113-91 on Monday.