Many star players have been busy recruiting on behalf of their teams this summer, but LeBron James is not among them. That is because James himself is a free agent after opting out of his contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James is widely expected to sign a new contract to stay with the Cavs, but he is apparently using his leverage to ensure the team signs one of his buddies first.
As has been believed all along, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reports that James is waiting for the Cavs to reach agreement on a contract extension with Tristan Thompson before re-signing with the team.
Thompson is a client of James’ agent Rich Paul, so LeBron wants to make sure both of his guys are taken care of. Contract talks between the sides reportedly have “stalled.”
Though the Cavs are expected to re-sign both Thompson and James, there is a consequence to the prolonged negotiations. Without James under contract, he will not be recruiting free agents to the team. He supposedly was not going to re-recruit Kevin Love, who signed a five-year deal with the team anyway, and he reportedly is not going to recruit David West.
Cavs indeed have interest in David West. But LeBron James has no plans to communicate with anyone while still a free agent, sources said.
— Brian Windhorst (@WindhorstESPN) July 4, 2015
West surprised many by opting out of his contract with the Pacers, and he has said he wants to play for a contender. The Cavs certainly will contend for a championship, but will they have too many big men to be interested in West? Their frontcourt might be loaded, but what it comes down to is whether West would take a massive cut to play for the Cavs.
