LeBron James is on the free agent market and while everyone expects him to return to the Miami Heat, teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, Los Angeles Lakers, Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks are hoping to convince him to sign and the longer he spends on the market the more ESPN will freak out about his possible move and it looks like it will be Cavs or Miami and if it's Miami, Dan Gilbert's letter could be the reason the Cleveland return is not happening.
James is the top free agent on the market along with Carmelo Anthony and the Miami Heat are hoping to retain his services along with the rest of the Big 3. James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade all opted out of their contracts and that leaves the Heat with the highest amount of cap space in the NBA. Pat Riley is looking at a number of free agents and according to ESPN.com, the team has spoken with Luol Deng and names like Eric Bledsoe, Chandler Parsons and Shawn Marion also could be potential free agent targets. James is coming off of his fourth straight finals appearance and he is looking for max contract money and that could mean some tough financial decisions for the Heat.
James has the chance to do whatever he wants in free agency, but most think it will be surprising if he leaves Miami after spending the past four years there. James won two championships while he was in Miami and ESPN.com is reporting that James is looking to get a max contract wherever he signs. The Houston Rockets are reportedly looking at Chris Bosh now that the Lakers have emerged as big players for Carmelo Anthony and that could set off a chain of events as well.
Steven A. Smith on ESPN is reporting that Anthony has not yet formally rejected any of the teams that he has met with and if the Rockets convince Bosh to leave, that could set the Miami Heat onto Carmelo. Phoenix has made a strong push towards James and they have the cap space to offer deals to both Anthony and James for a team-up out west. The Lakers have the cap space to do the same, but they likely will not go after both and are more likely to try and sign Anthony. The Rockets made a major push for Anthony with their presentation and they are looking to sign a major free agent to bring in alongside Dwight Howard.
James and Anthony have reportedly discussed teaming up and now the Lakers have emerged as the top option along with the Knicks to sign Anthony. The Knicks can offer Anthony the most money at five years and $129 million and the most other teams can offer is four years and that could potentially mean leaving $40 million on the table if he signs away from New York. Phil Jackson is going after Anthony hard and he is battling his fiance Jeanie for the services of Melo, who reportedly was very impressed with what the Lakers showed him in his meeting in Los Angeles, which included a film put together by Joel Silver that was narrated by Tobey Maguire.
