Since Magic Johnson was named Los Angeles Lakers president of basketball operations, he and general manager Rob Pelinka diligently worked to clear salary cap space for a star-studded 2018 NBA free agency class.
LeBron James was seemingly at the top of their wish list for the better part of the past year, with Paul George presumed to be checking in second. George quickly came off the board once free agency began, agreeing to re-sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In line with his two previous trips to free agency, matters haven’t been quite as accelerated for James. Though, this time around he’s said to want to make a relatively quick decision.
There was some belief Johnson and James were due to have dinner once free agency began, but that did not take place, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times:
The level of contact between LeBron James and the Lakers thus far is not yet clear, but one source close to the process tells @NYTSports that LeBron and Lakers lead recruiter Magic Johnson did NOT have dinner together after free agency began at 9:01 PM Los Angeles time last night
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 1, 2018
James and his agent Rich Paul reportedly spoke with Cleveland Cavaliers general manager Koby Altman minutes after free agency began. The Cavs remain hopeful they’ll convince James to remain with the organization.
Meanwhile, the 14-time All-Star reportedly has significant interest in signing with the Lakers. It’s believed to still hold true even after George was removed from possibly joining James in Los Angeles.
In addition, the Denver Nuggets are aggressively pursuing a meeting with James in effort to sell him on a big three of himself, Nikola Jokić and Will Barton. As for the Philadelphia 76ers, they reportedly secured a meeting with James’ representatives on Sunday.
However, James was not expected to attend. Nonetheless, the 76ers are said to be confident in their ability to sell James on signing, in part because of a potential trade for Kawhi Leonard.
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