Surprised that the speculation is flying fast and furiously as the free-agent clock winds down? Neither are we.
William "Wes" Wesley (left) has touted his closeness to LeBron James, but childhood friend and business partner Maverick Carter says Wesley won't be at James' meetings with prospective NBA suitors.(Chasing down rumors about LeBron James' basketball future is my full-time job. Just call me The Rumor Monger. Every day we'll compile a list of the rumors we're hearing about James and his next contract. Just remember these are just rumors, not necessarily facts. -- Mary Schmitt Boyer)
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Two important stories broke Tuesday amongst the chaos as the free-agent clock ticks down.
First, Maverick Carter tells Jonathan Abrams of the New York Times that the infamous William "Worldwide Wes" Wesley will not be in the room when James, et al, hold their meetings this week.
"All the Wes rumors are untrue and he will not be at the meetings," Carter told The Times. "Wes has nothing to do with where he goes."
Meanwhile, Ken Berger of CBSSportsline.com talked to Steve Greenberg, the son of the late Hank Greenberg and managing director of the New York-based investment firm Allen & Co. who has had dealings with Cavs owner Dan Gilbert as well as James and Carter. He thinks James could stay.
Berger quotes Greenberg as saying, "What's really extraordinary about LeBron's situation is, it's actually his hometown -- not just the team that happened to draft him -- and it happens to be not one of the top five markets. I kind of liken it to Warren Buffett. If Buffett lived in New York or the Greenwich, Conn., suburbs or San Francisco or Chicago, I actually think some of the mystique of being the Oracle of Omaha might have been diminished. The fact that he's lived in the same house in Omaha and it is his hometown tends to lend to the legend. So if you can do it in Cleveland or Chicago as opposed to New York or L.A., that only adds to it."
• Did they or didn't they?
ESPN.com's Marc Stein and Chris Broussard reported James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade met last weekend in Miami to discuss their plans.
Then the denials started, as did the defending. Wade's agent, Henry Thomas, told the Miami Herald that Wade was in Las Vegas on Thursday for a players association meeting and in Chicago for the weekend before leaving for an undisclosed location.
The New York Post's Marc Berman tweeted that James was in New York on Thursday, Friday and Saturday afternoon and made the gossip pages twice during that time.
Broussard tweeted: "Marc Stein & I have multiple sources who saw the players in Miami Sat. denials r smart since meeting could b tampering, but our info is good."
Then later Stein tweeted in part: "Sources reiterate meeting took place."
• Here's a funny story from Sam Amico on trying to cover this nonsense ... and not get arrested. Nice to see someone still has a sense of humor.
• More silly stuff from ESPN.com's DJ Gallo who reworks "'Twas the Night Before Christmas" with free-agent references:
• From SI.com's Ian Thomsen, "All season I've named the Cavs as favorites to re-sign James, especially if he chooses to sign a three-year deal in order to opt out again in 2012. But their failed attempt to hire Tom Izzo -- a coach with no NBA experience -- revealed a troubling misunderstanding of what is needed to win a championship around James as soon as possible. Can they persuade James to stay while pulling off a sign-and-trade for a star to pair with him? Call me stubborn but I think they can.
"Prediction: He signs a short-term deal with Cavaliers; Bulls, Knicks and Heat in running."
• The New York Post's George Willis comments that it's not looking good for the Knicks in their attempts to land James.
Willis writes:
"You can almost hear it now. In a few days, the Knicks will tell us they did all they could to convince LeBron James to come to New York, but through no fault of their own he made other plans with his free agency.
"The Knicks will then try to convince us that despite losing James, they're happy with their Plan B: signing Joe Johnson and Amar'e Stoudemire to max contracts.
"If you read the tea leaves on the NBA free agency that begins at midnight Wednesday night, that may well be the Knicks' best-case scenario, unless you believe Garden owner James Dolan can somehow turn into Mr. Personality and convince LeBron that playing for the Knicks is the best thing he could ever do."
• Here's one way to keep everybody happy. In his "Ball Don't Lie" blog on Yahoo Sports, Trey Kerby suggests James just sign with all six teams in the running.
Writes Kerby, "It's blatantly obvious that LeBron James will be a Bullcavanetheatknickerick next year. Might as well start sewing your Frankenstein jersey now."
• Bodog may have quit listing odds on James next team, but sbrforum.com and picknation.com are plunging ahead.
Sbrforum still has the Cavs as the favorites at 1 to 2, but has downgraded the Bulls (3 to 1) and Knicks (4 to 1).
Steve Budin of picknation.com lists the Cavs at 2-3, followed by the Bulls at 3-1, the Knicks at 2-1, the Nets at 4-1 and Heat at 6-1.
• From ESPN Dallas.com, "If Rick Bucher's sources are correct, the Mavericks are out of the LeBron James race before it even starts. The ESPN NBA reporter is reporting that the Cavaliers have no intention of being part of a sign-and-trade should James choose to leave Cleveland. The Mavericks are over the salary cap, so a sign-and-trade deal is their only hope of acquiring King James."
Bucher's first name is "Ric." But whatever.
• They're a little late to the party, but the Mahoning Valley Scrappers will hold a LeBron James Stay in Cleveland Rally before their game against the Jamestown Jammers on Thursday at Eastwood Field. Fans wearing Cavs or James gear will get a free lower box seat ticket.