For what it’s worth, the Miami Heat are still considered heavy favorites to retain LeBron James’ services this summer. But even with King James currently on vacation, his agent Rich Paul is taking meetings from several teams around the NBA.
Paul has reportedly been in contact with the Phoenix Suns, Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and [cue drumroll …] the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Free agency has now truly begun, folks.
Per ESPN:
Sources said that Suns owner Robert Sarver met with Paul on Wednesday and pitched the idea of luring James from the Miami Heat to the desert by trying to sign Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh as well.
Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert met with Paul on Thursday, a source said.
A picture that appeared to be Mavericks owner Mark Cuban in Cleveland circulated via Twitter on Thursday, but Cuban denied that he was there to meet with Paul. “I was there for a ‘Shark Tank’ commitment,” Cuban said, referencing his TV show.
Heat president Pat Riley knows he must bolster a roster that has reached the NBA Finals the last four years, but he has yet to make a splash.
LeBron James and his representatives have kept things quiet so far during this crazy time of the year, but of course, even that relative silence has once again created a circus-like atmosphere.
