Rich Paul responds to championship-chasing by teaming up: James did not request special treatment and did not consider the 76ers before the Brown trade.

On July 29, Beijing time, LeBron James' agent Rich Paul discussed further behind-the-scenes information about James signing with the 76ers on his latest podcast. He denied the statement that signing James would come with numerous harsh conditions and also disclosed that James had not thought about joining the 76ers before the Brown trade was completed.

Paul said: "The various speculations are far from the truth. For example, some people claimed: 'Signing LeBron will come with a whole bunch of conditions.' That's not the case. He has no additional demands; he brings only himself... Many people have always thought he would ask for all kinds of special treatment."

"First of all, the way we were raised taught us the opposite: never ask for anything you can't earn on your own. Secondly, his only request is to be on a team with championship potential. If wanting a chance to compete for a title is considered an excessive demand, then what is the point of team competition? I really can't understand this double standard."

Rich Paul pushed back against the criticism that James has been forming superteams throughout his career solely to chase championship rings.

"This kind of statement is puzzling. What else should people chase? Empty cans? I don't think he's chasing anything. In my view, people just want to be in the most competitive environment and have a chance to win. Seeing people talk about 'forming a superteam to chase a title' is really hard for me to understand, especially those players who don't have a championship ring yet. I can't figure out why some people keep criticizing others day after day just because they want to put themselves in the best competitive position."

Rich Paul also revealed that James had never considered the 76ers before the Jaylen Brown trade was finalized.

"We never received any proactive contact from the 76ers because the team itself didn't think there was any possibility of a signing. I also analyzed the reasons behind it with others. Of course, I often communicate with Maxey, but neither side ever thought this deal could happen."

"After that, we started having purely basketball-related discussions, talking about the direction of the situation and what conditions are truly needed to win. I can't disclose all the details, but there were multiple rounds of talks. You know, all major decisions are the result of layers of careful consideration."

In the end, after careful consideration, James decided to join the 76ers, the team that would give him the best chance to win a championship.