LeBron James will demand max salary & will not schedule pitch meetings

[BloopOracle]

http://espn.go.com/nba/truehoop/miamiheat/story/_/id/11156634/lebron-james-miami-heat-wants-maximum-salary

Teams who contact James will be informed that he wants no less than the maximum salary number for next season, sources said.


Also, as of now, James is not scheduling any pitch meetings with teams -- he will let agent Rich Paul handle the opening stages of talks. In 2010, he scheduled six meetings with teams at his offices in Cleveland over the first three days of July.

Is the Love for Wiggins and spare parts scenario still alive?

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

I think this increases the likelihood of him signing in Cleveland because they'll throw him the max for sure. How if you are Riley are you going to give Lebron the max and tell Wade and Bosh they need to take even bigger pay cuts to get more pieces to be a contender? The aging big 3 isn't going to get better as they get older, so they need better pieces around them which they won't be able to afford anymore.

[BizarroJerry [enjin:6592520]]

I think this would be a great time to remember how great that Spurs title was, how great the TEAM was in it's unselfishness, how little superstar power they had. We may not ever see this again, especially in light of what bloop is pointing out here.

I know we've praised them plenty during the finals, but the free agency insanity is starting tonight. So let's have one more toast to Pop and the Spurs for doing it the right way all these years.

[bleedspeed]

I am fine with Lebron doing this. He is the best player and if anyone should make the max it is him. We will see Wade's true colors. Will he take a discount for the team or pull a Kobe. Either way I can't blame him. There certainly are a lot more gratifying jobs then what I do, but I wouldn't do them for what they typically get paid.

[Lipoli390]

Looks like LeBron is poised to re-sign with Miami and I suspect that Bosh and Wade will accept less than they might get elsewhere (especially Bosh) to help make that happen. However, you would think that LeBron would be at least somewhat reluctant to re-up with Miami. They didn't just lose to the Spurs, they were dominated. And it's hard to see them getting better next season under any realitic scenario.

Wade is already a shadow of his former self and he'll likely be even less of a player next season. Ray Allen has nothing left. Haslem is nothing like the player he used to be and is on the decending slope of his career. Shabazz Napier? Not an addition you can look to as a difference maker. So how will Miami improve? By the time the Heat are done re-signing LeBron, Bosh and Wade, even with discounts on the latter two, the Heat will be at or near the salary cap. At that point, the only way they can improve is by adding free agents using the $5 million MLE, the $2.5 million LLE and the vet minimum. Yes, I'm sure there are players who would like to play with LeBron. But I have a hard time seeing significant improvement resulting from the few additions the Heat can make with these limited cap exceptions.

In other words, you would think that LeBron would be looking elsewhere. He should find the Suns an intriguing destination. They have a nice and fairly deep collection of young talent on that roster. Cleveland is very close to having the cap room to offer LeBron a max deal. A small tweak to the roster (a minor offload deal) will add the Cavs as the 8th team with cap room to given him the max deal. The Cavs could bring him in as a FA on a max deal and then sign Irving to the five-year max coming off his rookie contract. The Cavs would then be very well-positioned for a salary-match deal with the Wolves for Kevin Love -- trading Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, and Varejao. I don't think this will happen, but it seems like something that would make sense for all involved.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

I agree, lip, that Miami is not James' best shot at winning. But we don't know if that is his biggest driver. I suspect for guys that haven't won, or even made the playoffs like Love, winning is the biggest driver. But after you have a ring, perhaps other factors become more important...money, recognition, location, etc. Lebron has told us that money is his most important driver right now by insisting on a max deal (which he deserves), so he will likely stay in Miami. If winning were most important to him, he would be willing to take a significant pay discount to join a team that can win, but he doesn't want to do that.

[TAFKASP]

Looks like LeBron is poised to re-sign with Miami and I suspect that Bosh and Wade will accept less than they might get elsewhere (especially Bosh) to help make that happen. However, you would think that LeBron would be at least somewhat reluctant to re-up with Miami. They didn't just lose to the Spurs, they were dominated. And it's hard to see them getting better next season under any realitic scenario.

Wade is already a shadow of his former self and he'll likely be even less of a player next season. Ray Allen has nothing left. Haslem is nothing like the player he used to be and is on the decending slope of his career. Shabazz Napier? Not an addition you can look to as a difference maker. So how will Miami improve? By the time the Heat are done re-signing LeBron, Bosh and Wade, even with discounts on the latter two, the Heat will be at or near the salary cap. At that point, the only way they can improve is by adding free agents using the $5 million MLE, the $2.5 million LLE and the vet minimum. Yes, I'm sure there are players who would like to play with LeBron. But I have a hard time seeing significant improvement resulting from the few additions the Heat can make with these limited cap exceptions.

In other words, you would think that LeBron would be looking elsewhere. He should find the Suns an intriguing destination. They have a nice and fairly deep collection of young talent on that roster. Cleveland is very close to having the cap room to offer LeBron a max deal. A small tweak to the roster (a minor offload deal) will add the Cavs as the 8th team with cap room to given him the max deal. The Cavs could bring him in as a FA on a max deal and then sign Irving to the five-year max coming off his rookie contract. The Cavs would then be very well-positioned for a salary-match deal with the Wolves for Kevin Love -- trading Wiggins, Tristan Thompson, and Varejao. I don't think this will happen, but it seems like something that would make sense for all involved.

I think LeBronda knows if he keeps jumping ship to loaded teams his legacy is going to reflect that. LaBronda knows he needs to buckle down and win some championships even if that means willing his undermanned teams to victory by himself. Does anybody believe that if he were to jump back the Cleveland with Love and Irving that he won't forever be labeled a front runner. Zero chance that his legacy will stand with the all time greats if he does that.

[TheGrey08]

I think LeBronda knows if he keeps jumping ship to loaded teams his legacy is going to reflect that. LaBronda knows he needs to buckle down and win some championships even if that means willing his undermanned teams to victory by himself. Does anybody believe that if he were to jump back the Cleveland with Love and Irving that he won't forever be labeled a front runner. Zero chance that his legacy will stand with the all time greats if he does that.

If he does jump ship again to a stacked team I think going back home will hurt him less than the other possibilities at least.

[TAFKASP]

I think LeBronda knows if he keeps jumping ship to loaded teams his legacy is going to reflect that. LaBronda knows he needs to buckle down and win some championships even if that means willing his undermanned teams to victory by himself. Does anybody believe that if he were to jump back the Cleveland with Love and Irving that he won't forever be labeled a front runner. Zero chance that his legacy will stand with the all time greats if he does that.

If he does jump ship again to a stacked team I think going back home will hurt him less than the other possibilities at least.

He would be a hero to his hometown fans no doubt. In the larger context though he'll always be remembered was the best player in the league who chased perfect opportunities rather than leading his own team to the top.

[TheGrey08]

True. So now that Kyrie just signed a 5 year max deal extension I wonder if that puts more weight into Lebron going back there. Knowing he'd have this kid for the long haul.