LeBron James is a free agent and it could be for the last time in his prime and teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Phoenix Suns, NY Knicks, Houston Rockets, Chicago Bulls and LA Lakers have tried to capitalize on that to sign the best player in the league and now James is deciding his next move, waiting out with Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh to see where things fall in free agency with Pat Riley in Miami.
James has long been expected to stay in South Beach, but the longer this process takes the more likely the chance is that he leaves Miami. According to ESPN.com, the Cavaliers feel they have a realistic shot to get James and this comes after the Decision and him leaving four years ago for Miami in the first place. ESPN.com writes that the team now has added Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger on contracts and while that's not the pull that Carmelo or Luol Deng would be, James knows that players like that are what helps teams win titles.
Last season the Heat were beaten soundly by the San Antonio Spurs and one of the main reasons was due to the strength of their bench and role players. Miami needed to add to that and now they have McRoberts and Granger. ESPN.com reported that Luol Deng met with the Miami Heat already this offseason so the team could officially show their interests, but right now he is not leaning towards signing there. The report says that he isn't willing to take less money to go to Miami, but that could change if LeBron finally signs.
ESPN.com is reporting that the Cleveland Cavaliers feel they have a realistic shot to sign Anthony and that he is listening to their pitch. The team is in a solid position right now even if they are not a championship contender, as they have first round picks in the future, Kyrie Irving in on a max contract and Andrew Wiggins as the number one overall pick. The Suns have made their thoughts known and they have extended the possibility of signing Carmelo Anthony and James for them to team up since they have the cap space to do it.
The NBA free agency period is going to be a dramatic one this time around and a number of teams could make big splashes. Names like James and Anthony may stay home, but there are tons of players that could be changing teams this offseason, including potential trades for Kevin Love and Rajon Rondo. James and Anthony are flirting with other teams and now this could be very interesting as they decide what to do.
Zach Randolph could have been a potential target, but he made his move and now Randolph is staying with the Grizzlies and it comes after he has played very well for the team and has helped lead their resurgence. Randolph is 32 and he likely knows this is his last "big" money contract and played into how he dealt with things. Randolph has been in Memphis since 2009 and has found a place he can call home and he is hitting the market with nice numbers, as he averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds last season.
