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CLEVELAND (AP) – Before any decision, LeBron James had a discussion with the Cavaliers.
James was in touch with the team when the free NBA agency opened on Sunday, a person familiar with the contact told the Associated Press. Shortly after leaving 12:01 pm EDT, Cavs' general manager, Koby Altman, spoke on the phone to James and his agent Rich Paul, said the person who spoke under cover of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the discussion.
James is a free-standing free agent and the Cavs are hoping to re-sign the triple champion, who is wondering if he needs to change the team for the third time in eight years. James, who was in Los Angeles, is also being sued by the Lakers, who have enough salary cap space to sign him and another star player.
While there was a febrile fever of activity involving big name players in the opening hour of what was announced as LeBron's summer, James has not announced where he will play next season and it is unclear whether other movements, like Paul George staying in Oklahoma City and Chris Paul staying in Houston, have affected his thinking.
James's discussion with the Cavaliers was first reported by ESPN.
One does not expect James to drag his choice over several days. He knows what he wants and he is very familiar with the Cavaliers after leading them to four consecutive NBA finals since returning as a free agent in 2014 after four seasons in Miami. Because they own his "bird rights", the Cavs can offer James more money than any other team – a $ 207 million deal over five years.
But the 33-year-old has interests beyond basketball and the mbadive Los Angeles market would give him a bigger stage and platform.
The Lakers have a young, talented but inexperienced formation and they hoped to land both James and maybe George. But the All-Star striker has chosen to stay with the Thunder and will sign a four-year contract when teams will be allowed to close the deal on June 6th.
George's choice could prompt James to sign a short-term contract with Cleveland, but the Lakers are determined to get their hands on the MVP four times.
The Cavs, on the other hand, mostly operated in the dark. Although there has been a dialogue between Paul and Altman since the end of the season, James had not given the team an idea of his plans. This has made it difficult for Cleveland to improve his lineup, but the Cavs remain committed to bringing James back for another year.
On Friday, James officially became a free agent when he informed the Cavs that he would not exercise his $ 35.6 million contract option for next season, making him an unrestricted free agent and prize-winning in the 2018 category.
Now that some of the first dust has settled, the battle for him seems to be reduced to two teams: Cleveland vs. Los Angeles.
House against Hollywood.
Wine and gold against Violet and gold.
But while the Cavs and Lakers seem to be James's favorites, the Philadelphia 76ers are not ready to give up the fight. Well, at least young and straightforward center Joel Embiid is not.
Embiid posted a post on Twitter that appeared to be directed to number 23 and what it might be to walk in the footsteps of Lakers legends like Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Chamberlain Wilt, Jerry West and Shaquille . O & # 39; Neal.
"The Lakers are ALWAYS the team of Kobe and Magic," wrote Embiid, referring to Kobe Bryant and Johnson. "Treat that."
George's move has given James more time for the process, but the chance to restore Los Angeles to the honor may be just what he needs at this stage of his career. And while he's long been compared to Michael Jordan, Johnson is the one whose game most resembles his.
For the moment, however, he is not attached to anyone.
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