LeBron James is still a free agent and now it's clear that the Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers are his top two options and many are starting to predict he will sign with the Cavs, who are now chasing Chandler Parsons, Mike Miller and Ray Allen in free agency, while Pat Riley is meeting with LeBron to see where he is at and free agent signings like Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger along with potential deals with Luol Deng and Chandler Parsons could sway him to stay.
Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein at ESPN along with Chris Broussard say that James is open to listening to the Cavaliers and this comes after he left the team four years ago. According to ESPN.com, after meeting with a number of teams and hearing pitches from the Lakers, Suns and Rockets, it's now down to the Miami Heat and Cavaliers for James. Chris Bosh plays a major factor in this, as he has a max contract offer from the Houston Rockets and he could be on his way out of town, which could affect what James does as well. Pro Basketball Talk reports on the interest for Parsons, Miller and Allen for the Cavs.
Bosh has reportedly said he will take less money to stay in Miami as long as LeBron does, but until he makes that decision, the NBA is basically at a standstill. James is the best player in the league and this is likely the last chance for any team to sign him in his prime and that is why the Cavaliers are trying to make a strong push for his services. Dan Gilbert burned bridges and he looks like an idiot now, as that could be one reason why James doesn't return. Fans would be thrilled to have him back and James likely wants to stay in the east since that is an easier road to the finals.
Reports say that the Knicks are looking to try and lure LeBron to sign along with Carmelo Anthony, but they have so much money tied up in other players that they likely cannot pull this off. The team has already traded Tyson Chandler
James left Cleveland once and many felt he never would return after that, but now the team appears to be on the upswing and now it could be ripe for a homecoming. The Cavaliers had the top overall pick in the draft for the second straight season and now they have Andrew Wiggins along with Anthony Bennett and he joins Tristan Thompson and they also just pulled off a trade to create cap space for signing James by moving Jarrett Jack.
The team obviously is hoping James comes to Cleveland, but if he doesn't they still should be set up well for the future. The team got lucky and won the draft lottery again and now they have Wiggins, Bennett and Kyrie Irving after he signed a max contract and that gives the team some of the best young talent in the league. The Cavaliers have moves they can make and if they don't sign LeBron, they will have cap space to add more players and names like Parsons and Luol Deng could be in the mix.