The LeBron James free agency sweepstakes has not officially started yet, but that has not stopped rumors from popping up around the league and teams like the Chicago Bulls, LA Clippers and Houston Rockets have targeted the Miami Heat star and to make the free agent contract happen, trades involving Jeremy Lin, DeAndre Jordan, Omer Asik, Carlos Boozer or Taj Gibson could be going down.
James is coming off of his fourth straight finals appearance with the Miami Heat and while he lost this year to the Spurs, his main goal is being back in the title series next season. According to ESPN.com, James would prefer to stay in Miami with the Big 3 of Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, but depending on how things play out the three could split up following the defeat by the Spurs. The team reportedly wants to chase Carmelo Anthony and to get him in under the salary cap all three players in the Big 3 would have to opt out of their deals and re-sign at a lower price.
James' future has been speculated about all season and some have suggested that he could go back to Cleveland to play for the Cavaliers, but that is a long shot for the Cavs. The team tried to hire John Calipari to a massive contract to put the team in contention to sign James, but he rebuffed that to stay in Kentucky. James can dictate his own future, as he has an early termination option and could choose to stay in Miami and play out his contract before becoming a free agent next summer.
Pro Basketball Talk is reporting that the Los Angeles Clippers and the Houston Rockets will make runs at signing James, as both have the assets to move to clear enough cap space to bring him in. The Rockets will need to move Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik for any chance at getting a deal done and they may have to do that without even knowing what James is planning on doing as a free agent. The Clippers have moves they can make as well, with DeAndre Jordan and Jamal Crawford the likely trade candidates. Bill Simmons writes on Twitter that the team likely would have to move Jordan, Jamal Crawford, Jared Dudley and a first round draft pick to clear space and that still would be too close with James' salary and so it may require more moves from the team as well.
While it's unlikely that James leaves Miami, everyone thought that about Cleveland and now he will get a chance to decide his future. The Heat have shown that they are willing to build around the three stars and if they can add another one, it could be enough to keep James. The biggest question for James is what free agents the Heat can get, as they need some more support alongside James, Wade and Bosh and if they can bring on another talented star, it almost would lock James in to South Florida. James will be the talk of the NBA until he officially signs and while it won't be "the Decision", this could be as league-changing as that one was.
