The Cavaliers are the only team that can meet with their star forward prior to Thursday, and they have recently done so. The Bulls, Heat and Clippers are other likely visitors.
LeBron James will probably begin on Thursday to meet with teams that want to sign him as a free agent.Apparently, there will be no LeBron James tour of NBA cities that want to land him as a player for their teams. Instead, teams will visit James at an undisclosed location(s) in Ohio beginning July 1, when James -- the Cavaliers forward and two-time league MVP -- will become an unrestricted free agent. The New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks might be the first teams to meet with James on Thursday, according to an ESPN.com report. Writes Chris Broussard:
Sources close to the situation told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the latest plan calls for the New Jersey Nets -- led by new owner Mikhail Prokhorov and minority owner/longtime James pal Jay-Z -- to be the first team to meet James face to face. No one from James' camp, though, would confirm the meeting.
On Saturday, a source told ESPNNewYork.com's Ian O'Connor that the Knicks also will be meeting with James on Thursday.
It was not immediately clear how many teams James plans to meet with on a daily basis when free agency commences.
The Cavaliers are the only team that can talk contract with James before Thursday. Team executives have met with him, as Broussard writes:
James has already met with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who traveled to Akron, Ohio, last week along with members of Cleveland's front office to visit the All-Star forward. On Thursday, general manager Chris Grant refused to characterize the team's discussions with James.
"We're a family here," Grant said.
There's a chance the Cavs will meet with James again before he hits the open market, Grant said. Cleveland can offer James up to $30 million more than any other team on a maximum-length contract.
James has not given any indication which way he's leaning.
James will also be visited, almost certainly, by the Chicago Bulls. Many observers believe the Bulls have the best chance to persuade James, a lifelong Akron resident who lives in nearby Bath Township, to leave the Cavs.
The Miami Heat and Los Angeles Clippers, too, have the means to sign James, and would probably want to visit him.