“King” James held court for a second straight day, but it was Dwyane Wade rather than LeBron James who had the most tongues wagging as NBA teams continued to woo free agents on Friday.
Miami Heat star Wade started his day meeting with the New York Knicks and said he came away from a meeting lasting more than two hours “intrigued.”
He then met for the second time in as many days with the Chicago Bulls, who were due to join the queue of teams wooing James yesterday.
Wade declined to say if the Bulls made him an offer, saying only that “things are getting very interesting.”
Asked if James’ decision would influence his own, Wade was also non-commital.
“I can’t say. We’re both going to make our own decisions,” Wade said.
James, the 25-year-old two-time reigning NBA Most Valuable Player, is the cream of a remarkable crop of free agents this year, who began hearing pitches from the teams who want to lure them from their current clubs on Thursday.
James’ task is to decide whether to make a move or stay in Cleveland, where he has spent all seven of his NBA seasons, but has so far been unable to capture a title.
After hearing from the Nets and Knicks on Thursday, James welcomed the Heat and the Los Angeles Clippers, but the Cavaliers’ brand new coach, Byron Scott, made it clear on Friday he thinks James will stay in Ohio.
“I think at the end of the day, he’s going to make the right decision and he’ll be here in Cleveland for the rest of his career,” Scott said.
In addition to James, Miami have also talked to Amare Stoudemire and Chris Bosh as they seek another big name to join Wade — if they can keep him in Florida.
“This is a very fluid process,” Miami president Pat Riley said. “We’ve had five meetings across the country in the span of 40 hours. We will continue with the process.”
Phoenix star Stoudemire was headed to New York for a meeting with the Knicks amid reports that the Suns had made contract offers to other players that insured Stoudemire would make a move.
Paul Pierce, meanwhile, has reportedly already agreed to stay with the Boston Celtics, while the Dallas Mavericks were doing their best to keep Dirk Nowitzki.
Mavericks president Donnie Nelson said he made a “significant” contract offer to Nowitzki’s adviser during a meeting on Friday.
No free agent signings can be confirmed until Thursday.
The wealth of quality free agents available has made for a hectic pursuit of talent.
Bosh, who met with the Houston Rockets in Texas on Thursday before flying to Chicago to talk to the Heat and the Nets, said he felt “like a kid at Christmas.”
“You’ve got to enjoy this,” said Bosh, who has spent seven seasons in Toronto.
Asked if there were any hard offers, he said: “No, not yet. Everything is still pending.”
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