The Cavaliers and Bulls are considered the favorites in the chase to sign James. But with so many teams and so many players involved in the free agent process, the possibilities seem endless.
LeBron James and other free agents have observers wondering who will be playing where next season.Cleveland, Ohio -- LeBron James may not announce his decision on whether to stay with the Cavaliers, or sign with one of the teams trying to land him, until at least Wednesday night. Those teams would include the Chicago Bulls, New Jersey Nets, Miami Heat, New York Knicks and the longest of shots, probably, the Los Angeles Clippers. James met with each of those teams between Thursday and Saturday, including the Cavaliers and Bulls on Saturday, as The Plain Dealer Cavaliers beat writer Brian Windhorst reports here.
Windhorst relays on PDcavsinsider on Twitter the following:
Sources say LeBron plans to wait until after 3-day Nike camp in Akron is over to announce decision. Ends Wed. nite
Windhorst also tweeted a reminder: Thursday is the first day that free agents can sign a contract, whether it be with their old team or with another team.
Cavs vs. Bulls
James met with the Cavaliers and Bulls on Saturday, after visits from the Nets, Knicks, Heat and Clippers the previous two days. John Jackson refers to the Cavs and Bulls as he writes for the Chicago Sun-Times:
Which team is favored at this point is a topic for debate, but most NBA observers now think his decision will come down to the teams he met with Saturday.
Not many of the teams involved in the free agent process have shown their hands, except to speak in generalities. Jackson also writes:
Of the six teams involved in the process, the Bulls were the only one to offer no comment whatsoever. They've been tight-lipped throughout the first three days of the negotiating period, but a source close to the situation said members of management have been pleased with all the get-togethers they've had.
Two tries
Observers thought that was it for the meetings after James talked with the Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls on Saturday. Frank Isola reports for the New York Daily News, though, that James' business manager, Maverick Carter, and his agent, Leon Rose, met later Saturday with Madison Square Garden president Scott O'Neil and Knicks senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Glen Grunwald.
Isola reports it is "unclear if James was in the meeting," and writes:
The timing of the meeting is interesting since it came one day after the Knicks received a verbal commitment from All Star power forward Amar'e Stoudemire. The Knicks wanted to relay to James that the organization is committed to doing everything in its power to surround him with talent.
The sense the Knicks get is that James will likely re-sign with the Cavs. In fact, as recently as Thursday, one Knicks source said it was "very doubtful" that James would sign with New York.
Marc Berman of the New York Post also reports on Saturday night's unscheduled meeting between James' and Knicks' representatives:
Agent Leon Rose had called with questions regarding the Knicks' salary-cap situation and team execs volunteered to come back to Cleveland, the official said.
James was not present. He showed up at 11 a.m. to meet with the Bulls and Cavs.
The Knicks initial meeting Thursday was criticized in some quarters and Yahoo! reported the Knicks had fallen out of the race.
All for show?
For CBSSports.com, Ken Berger relays the opinion of an executive who says it's all been a show:
One of the executives involved in the recruiting process over the past few days described it this way: Now is when the emotion of the process and the glitz of the presentations fade and reality sets in. Reality, and the known vs. the unknown. And the executive came away with the distinct impression that Wade is staying in Miami, LeBron is staying in Cleveland, and Bosh -- left out to dry in such a scenario -- would then be far more interested in the extra $25-$30 million the Raptors can offer him than he's been for the past 72 hours.
"All these guys know where they're going to go," a person with close ties to one of the players involved in the process said. "This whole thing has just been a spectacle."
Berger writes that James and Cavaliers officials watched an emotional video the team prepared. And, Berger writes:
But the important moments in James' sitdown with the team he's played with for seven seasons came when new coach Byron Scott had the floor, explaining to James his defensive-minded style, desire to push the tempo offensively, and emphasis on tireless work and practice time. In fact, people familiar with James' priorities believe the one-on-one time he spent with coaches over the past few days -- Mike D'Antoni of the Knicks, Tom Thibodeau of the Bulls, Avery Johnson of the Nets, Erik Spoelstra (and by extension, Pat Riley) of the Heat, and Scott -- will resonate with him as much as any other basketball factor.
Wade a camper, too
It's understood that James, Miami's Dwyane Wade and Toronto's Chris Bosh are interested in what each other does. It's been speculated that two, or all three, of them could end up on the same team. Michael Wallace writes for the Miami Herald:
And much like the Heat, Chicago is in heavy pursuit of James and Bosh. The Bulls met with James for nearly three hours Saturday in Cleveland, a session that matched Miami's time with James on Friday.
Wade is scheduled to travel to Miami for a set of summer camp and promotional appearances Tuesday. It will be Wade's first time in town as a professional without officially being under contract with the Heat.
Be nice
Would you believe a little tension between the Nets and Knicks in the chase for LeBron James? Fred Kerber writes for the New York Post:
So the Nets wait on LeBron. The Nets were truly pleased and optimistic about their pitch, despite insinuation from Knicks officials that New Jersey brass thought they bombed and were trying to paint a rosy picture. There was incredulous silence about suggestions from unnamed Knicks officials that the Nets planted a report dismissing the Knicks in the LeBron race.
“Mikhail Prokhorov sees everyone else as competition,” said one Eastern Conference source close to the Nets. “The Knicks to him are no different than any other team. He has no sense of a rivalry. He couldn’t care less about the Knicks.”
That's the tip?
Is it the guy at Nello's Restaurant in New York who's got the scoop? Writes Brett Cyrgalis for the New York Post:
According to an employee at Nello’s, who wanted to remain nameless but spent some time talking with Prokhorov, the 45-year-old Russian billionaire told him that the chances of signing James were, “50 percent.”
“He said it looks 50-50,” the employee said. “I said, ‘50 is a lot.’ And he said, ‘It’s 50-50.’ I said, ‘So many things are 50-percent.’ And he said, ‘Yea, we’re about 50 percent.’”
After heading into the posh eatery around 3:40 p.m., Prokhorov had three deserts and two cups of tea with the tall blonde woman.
He then chatted with a couple of employees, talking about other things besides LeBron, like how he likes Germany in the World Cup final.
Back then
Mark Potash of the Chicago Sun-Times writes about James' childhood, and then his high school years at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary. Potash writes:
Frankie Walker Jr. hadn't heard of LeBron James when he first met him. James was 9 years old; Walker and his friend Brandon Weems were 8 on the first day of practice for the East Dragons of the Akron peewee football league.
''We didn't like him,'' said Walker, whose father coached the team, ''because we had been around the organization as water boys and figured we'd step into [prime] spots. But then this oversized 9-year-old, freaky athletic kid comes out of nowhere. He's 5 or 6 inches taller than us, and he's scoring every time he touches the ball. We weren't too high on him at first.''
Also
Bob Finnan writes for the News Herald and Lorain Morning Journal that it's up to James, now.
On SportingNews.com, Sean Deveney ranks teams' chances of signing James.
The meetings are over and the waiting begins, writes Jason Lloyd for the Akron Beacon Journal.
The Knicks' chances of signing James are updated by Marc Berman of the New York Post.
K.C. Johnson writes for the Chicago Tribune and chicagobreakingsports.com that the Bulls, too, are waiting to hear.