LeBron James Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Knicks Fear That ‘Melo Eyes Pairing With LeBron

July 8th, 2014 at 8:35am CST by Chuck Myron

There’s a growing belief within the Knicks organization that Carmelo Anthony is hesitating to make his decision while the possibility of joining LeBron James on either the Heat or the Lakers still exists, writes Marc Berman of the New York Post. That’s similar to the notion that ‘Melo is holding out to see if Chris Bosh signs with the Rockets and helps clear the path for Anthony to join James on the Heat, an idea that representatives from five teams raised to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). In any case, there seems to be a sense of unease coming from the Knicks, as some within the team expected ‘Melo would have made his call on where to sign by Monday, Stein tweets.

It nonetheless seems unlikely that Anthony and James will pair up. Bosh’s preference is reportedly to remain in Miami with James, so a scenario in which Bosh would vacate Miami while James would stay seems especially far-fetched. Still, Anthony seemed on Monday to be “torn,” as Frank Isola of the New York Daily News wrote, casting the Knicks, Bulls and Lakers as front-runners for the high-scoring forward. The Rockets and Mavs aren’t completely out of the running, according to Isola, but the Rockets believe Anthony won’t accept their max contract offer, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com.

The Knicks and Lakers have reportedly made max offers to Anthony as well, though Knicks president Phil Jackson is still encouraging him to take less, as Berman writes. The capped-out Bulls would likely end up having to give ‘Melo significantly less than the max, even if they made a series of moves to open up cap room.

And-Ones: Bosh, Rockets, ‘Melo, Thunder

July 7th, 2014 at 11:28pm CST by Charlie Adams

Yahoo Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski told FOX Sports 1 that Chris Bosh told the Rockets something that they don’t want to hear: “I want to be in Miami, I want to play with LeBron [James],” (link via Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders). More from around the league..

Carmelo Anthony is “torn” over where to spend the prime years of his career, a friend of the Knicks All Star forward tells Frank Isola of the Daily News. Anthony, 30, is still debating his next move with the Knicks, Lakers, and Bulls as his top three choices, the source claims.
The Knicks are feeling uneasy about the Melo situation, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears. Meanwhile, the Bulls are encouraged by his indecisiveness, writes Joe Cowley of the Sun-Times.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks met today with Pau Gasol, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
In his introductory press conference, new Nets coach Lionel Hollins presented himself as a very different man than Jason Kidd, writes Mitch Abramson of the Daily News.
A bunch of teams, including the Warriors, concluded early after July 1st that Channing Frye would get more than the mid-level exception, tweets Zach Lowe of Grantland. However, teams didn’t expect him to land with the Magic. Frye is set to ink a four-year, $32MM pact with Orlando.
Kobe Bryant is recruiting Steve Blake and Caron Butler to the Lakers, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
Blazers point guard Mo Williams is scheduled to meet with the Mavericks tomorrow, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

Amico On Heat, Cavs, LeBron James

July 7th, 2014 at 8:35pm CST by Charlie Adams

The Heat might be in line to add another free agent before the end of the day, sources tell Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio. Miami made headlines this afternoon when they agreed to deals with a pair of veterans in Josh McRoberts and Danny Granger. Here’s more from Amico on the Heat, Cavs, and LeBron James:

McRoberts’ decision to ink a deal with the Heat is appealing to LeBron, a source tells Amico, since the former Charlotte big man could take over the role of defending opposing teams’ power forwards from James.
Amico also hears that bigger name free agents like Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, and Luol Deng aren’t interested in the reduced salaries that the Heat are offering.
One Western Conference GM told Amico that plenty of front offices around the league are actually hoping the Heat’s Big Three remains intact. “One thing [Miami has] proven the past four years is they can’t add any real talent around those guys,” the GM said. “Their run will be over in two years, and it may already be. I’d be considerably more scared of LeBron in Cleveland or Phoenix.“
The same GM suggested that Pat Riley will have a hard time explaining to James the club’s lack of a proven starting point guard.
One Cavs source told Amico that Cleveland would be making moves soon and that the front office has been busy trying to improve the team, independent of the club’s pursuit of James. Sources also told Amico they expect LeBron to make his decision on where to sign by Wednesday.
Kyrie Irving has reached out to James in an effort to recruit the All-Star forward to Cleveland, hears Amico. Of course, Irving agreed to a long-term extension with the Cavs earlier this month.

Rockets Intensify Pursuit Of Chris Bosh

July 7th, 2014 at 11:54am CST by Zachary Links

MONDAY, 11:54am: Conversations between Bosh’s camp and the Rockets continue today even as Bosh’s preference remains to continue playing with James on the Heat, sources tell Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Part of the pitch the Rockets want to make to Bosh is that he wouldn’t have to play center with Dwight Howard next to him, according to Mitch Lawrence of the New York Daily News.

SUNDAY, 10:28pm: Bosh still hasn’t spoken directly with the Rockets, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).

10:26pm: The Rockets have ramped up their pursuit of Chris Bosh and are “heavily engaged” in trying to convince the All-Star power forward to leave the Heat in free agency, sources tell Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com.

The Rockets haven’t been formally told that they’re out of the running for Carmelo Anthony but they have gotten more serious about Bosh in the hope that LeBron James will leave the Heat. It’s widely assumed throughout the league that Bosh will only be willing to leave Miami if James goes first. However, the ESPN duo says that the Heat remain the favorites at this time to sign Bosh.

Sources say Bosh remains willing to take slightly less than his value on the open market to return with the Heat if James and Dwyane Wade are also coming back and if Heat president Pat Riley can upgrade the current roster. But nearly a week into free agency, sources say Bosh has felt compelled to consider other options himself. He won’t come cheap, though. Bosh would expect a four-year maximum offer of $96MM to leave Miami for Houston or any other suitor.

LeBron’s Agent Keen On Cavs Return

July 7th, 2014 at 11:12am CST by Chuck Myron

11:12am: There’s still confidence within the Heat organization that James will re-sign with them as there’s difference between Paul’s agenda and that of James, Wojnarowski tweets.

9:14am: It’s at the urging of agent Rich Paul that Cleveland is looking to clear cap flexibility for a max contract for LeBron James, as Paul has given the Cavs the belief they have a strong chance to sign the four-time MVP, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Paul has been telling people for years that it’s been “something of a mission” for him to bring James back to Cleveland, Wojnarowski writes.

James hasn’t been a part of Miami’s recruitment of talent this summer, and that’s sparked some worry surrounding the Heat, as Wojnarowski details. For Cleveland, the ability to sign James would also play a role in rookie scale extension talks with Tristan Thompson this summer, since he’s also a client of Paul’s. Thompson would have increased leverage, with the Cavs in position to pay back Paul for delivering James to Cleveland, Wojnarowski surmises.

The Cavs will try to split their max cap room among second-tier free agents, including targets Channing Frye and Trevor Ariza, if they’re unable to sign James, sources tell Wojnarowski. Cleveland is still thinking about tendering an offer sheet to Gordon Hayward, but the organization expects it wouldn’t extend a max offer to Hayward, and the Jazz plan to match any such offer, Wojnarowski hears.

James still has hard feelings about Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s sharply worded public letter in response to James’ 2010 departure from the team, as Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported earlier. That letter, which had been up on the Cavs official website for the past four years, has apparently been removed, Windhorst tweets.

LeBron James Increasingly Mulling Cavs Return

July 7th, 2014 at 8:20am CST by Chuck Myron

LeBron James is thinking more and more about the Cavs as he decides where to sign, sources tell Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com. Cleveland’s brass is confident that James is receptive to the pitch they made to agent Rich Paul last week, as the ESPN scribes detail. Still, the player atop our 2014 Free Agent Power Rankings harbors lingering ill feelings over Cavs owner Dan Gilbert’s reaction to his 2010 departure, despite a degree of reconciliation between the two as time has passed, according to Windhorst and Stein.

The Cavs are centering their case for LeBron on their capability for growth and improvement not just this summer but in years to come, with as many as three first-round picks in 2015 and young, team-controlled talent, like Kyrie Irving and Andrew Wiggins, Windhorst and Stein write. Cleveland is planning to point to Brendan Haywood‘s contract as another of their weapons, as the ESPN duo explains. Haywood, who’s headed to Cleveland via trade, has a salary of more than $2.2MM for 2014/15, but the final season of his contract is a non-guaranteed salary of more than $10.5MM, a vestige of Haywood having been claimed off amnesty waivers in 2012. That bloated non-guaranteed salary makes Haywood’s deal a valuable expiring contract this coming season or, as Windhorst and Stein point out, a weapon for a sign-and-trade next summer.

The Cavs don’t possess the cap flexibility to give James a max contract as their books currently stand. Rather than waiving Anderson Varejao‘s partially guaranteed contract to create the necessary cap space, they prefer to deal Jarrett Jack, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports reported Sunday. They have a deal in place to trade Jack to the Nets provided the teams can find a third club willing to absorb Marcus Thornton, according to other reports.

Heat president Pat Riley will reportedly meet this week with James in an effort to keep him in Miami. The Heat have eyed significant free agents along the lines of Marcin Gortat, Kyle Lowry, Luol Deng and even Carmelo Anthony, but they don’t think they need to add a star to convince James, Wade and Bosh to re-sign, according to Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. Instead, they’re merely looking for upgrades in the roles that Mario Chalmers, Udonis Haslem and Shane Battier have played in the past few years, Deveney writes.

Cavs Trying To Clear Cap Space For LeBron

July 6th, 2014 at 10:38pm CST by Zachary Links

The Cavs are working to clear cap space in order to carve out a max slot for LeBron James, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter). Sources tell Wojnarowski that Cleveland is looking for a team to take Nets guard Marcus Thornton in a deal to unload their own Jarrett Jack.

Moving Jack’s $6.3MM/year salary would enable the Cavs to clear room for LeBron while keeping LeBron’s friend Anderson Varejao in the fold (link). Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio (on Twitter) has heard from multiple sources that Paul has told the Cavs he’s impressed with what they’ve done and what they can still do with their roster, so a return back home doesn’t sound so far fetched at this point for LeBron.

Meanwhile, James has had minimal contact with Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade and the longer that goes on, the more unsettled the two are becoming about Miami’s future (link). “They’re reading the tea leafs,” a source tells Wojnarowski. LeBron and agent Rich Paul will meet with Pat Riley in person this week, Sam Amick of USA Today reports, so everyone involved might gain some clarity in a matter of days.

Western Notes: LeBron, Warriors, Mavs

July 6th, 2014 at 8:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Warriors could have dealt Harrison Barnes to the Magic for Arron Afflalo and a future first-round pick, a source tells Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game (on Twitter). The Warriors passed, but such a deal would have eased losing Klay Thompson in a Kevin Love trade.

Latest On LeBron, Bosh, Wade

July 6th, 2014 at 7:13pm CST by Zachary Links

Teams are awaiting direction from LeBron James‘ agent Rich Paul today to find out if the four-time MVP will proceed to free agent meetings this week, league sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). James has yet to meet with any club face-to-face and has been using Paul as a proxy.

As we learned last week, Paul has been telling clubs that James will take a more serious look at other teams if Miami president Pat Riley doesn’t act quickly in building a stronger supporting cast for the league’s best player. Of course, the caliber of talent that Riley can bring in will hinge greatly on what Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh decide to do.

There’s been speculation that Bosh is fishing for a max deal, but agent Henry Thomas scoffed at that notion in a chat with Michael Wallace of ESPN.com. Thomas would not say if Bosh or Wade, both of whom are his clients, are considering meeting with other teams and added that he does not believe James, Wade, and Bosh have met collectively since they got together in late June to initially discuss their free agency plans.

“This is a process — really a different process for each one of them,” Thomas said. “It just has to play out. But what I can tell you is that nothing’s changed.”

Thomas insisted that Bosh and Wade are operating under separate circumstances, but expects them to reach decisions on new deals “within the next couple of days.”

Lakers Using Pau Gasol As Selling Point

July 6th, 2014 at 1:57pm CST by Zachary Links

Pau Gasol is being courted by a number of teams, including top contenders, but the Lakers aren’t counting themselves out of it by any stretch. In fact, the Lakers are using Gasol as a selling point with other free agents as sources believe he would re-sign rather quickly if they’re able to sign LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com.

If the Lakers don’t land Anthony or James, Gasol will consider those contending clubs that have called, Shelburne tweets. Still, she wouldn’t count the Lakers out as they can offer more money than anyone else.

The Mavs, Heat, Bulls, Thunder, and Spurs are among the many teams with interest in the Spaniard.