Rich Paul told The Athletic he had been trying to get Bob Myers to come on the podcast for months; the invitation was not specifically tied to addressing James’ free agency. The 76ers, team sources said, had thought about the potential downside of Myers’ pitch being viewed as groveling publicly. But the upside of Myers — and his four rings from Golden State — speaking directly to Paul outweighed the potential minuses. “Bob Myers going on Rich Paul’s podcast was brilliant,” a coach for one of the other teams pursuing James told The Athletic. Myers’ appearance with Paul happened July 8 — 16 days before James made the final call.

This article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: The 76ers, team sources said, had thought about the …