The Cleveland Cavaliers have Kevin Love as a main priority this offseason and LeBron James may wait to make his move after using his opt out to see what the Cavs do with Love if he meets with the Lakers in free agency and this comes as Mo Williams could be a free agent target for, while Tristan Thompson is expected to return on a near-max contract.
James used his opt out and declined his player option for next season and he is on the free agent market, but is expected to return. James is reportedly not taking other meetings with teams and he wants to "wait and see" what the Cavaliers do with Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson along with other free agent deals. Marc Stein at ESPN reported that James wanted the team to sign Mike Dunleavy to a deal, but Stein later broke the news that he is planning to remain with the Chicago Bulls.
UPDATE: Kevin Love is signing a max deal with the Cavs.
Chris Haynes of the Plain Dealer reports that Mo Williams and the Cavaliers have "mutual interest" and that the team is "very interested" in having him return to Cleveland. James previously played with Williams and he could provide some depth on offense for the Cavaliers, something they lacked in the playoffs. Williams may not cost much and that could help the team retain Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson and James while also going after other players. Williams can shoot well from three point range and he averaged 14 points per game last season.
The Cavaliers have Love and Thompson to deal with before signing back LeBron and other players like Iman Shumpert, JR Smith and Matthew Dellavedova are also hitting the market. Shumpert is reportedly a target for the Lakers and Raptors. According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, Love will meet with the Lakers in free agency this week and the Cavaliers continue to think that they will be able to keep Love. The team reportedly is set to offer Love a max deal over five years and this comes after James and Love met in Los Angeles last week.
Broussard said there is thinking around the league that Love could re-sign with the Cavaliers for one year or two years with an opt out to try and win a title and then sign with the Lakers when the salary cap goes up. James and players like Jimmy Butler are interested in signing deals that would allow them to cash in on the cap going up and that could be a route for Love.
There have been reports for years that Love would like to end up in Los Angeles and that is where he lives during the offseason. Broussard said on ESPN Radio that the appeal of the Lakers and the chance to be a star in Los Angeles could be enough to convince Love to leave Cleveland, as he was not totally happy with his role there last season.
The Cavaliers are also likely going to try and bring back Thompson, who is a restricted free agent this summer. The team knows that the cap is going up and that could enable them to pay James, Thompson and Love this offseason. The Cavaliers want to bring in other free agents, but keeping Thompson is a priority and according to ESPN.com, Thompson wants a "max" or "near-max" contract to stay in Cleveland.
