Report: LeBron won’t meet with Cavaliers in person when free agency opens

Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James looks to move past Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry during the first half of Game 3 of basketball's NBA Finals on Wednesday, June 6, 2018, in Cleveland. (Joshua Gunter/The Plain Dealer via AP)

Four-time NBA MVP LeBron James will not meet in person with the Cleveland Cavaliers when NBA free agency officially opens Sunday at 12:01 a.m. ET, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reports.

On Friday, Rich Paul, James’ agent informed the Cavaliers that his client would be declining his $35.6-million player option with the Cavaliers for next season, meaning he would become an unrestricted free agent.

Despite the optics of the James-Cleveland situation, McMenamin reports that the Cavaliers front office has been in constant dialogue with James’ camp since the season ended, and had James decided to opt into the final year of his deal with the Cavs it would’ve actually been a bad sign for the club because it would point to him looking for a trade to another team.

And while he isn’t reportedly scheduled to meet with the Cavaliers face-to-face now, there’s always a chance it could still happen, although it was reported earlier by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne that James isn’t interested in flashy pitches from teams this time around.

James has spent his last four seasons in Cleveland, making a triumphant return to his hometown team after four seasons with the Miami Heat.

He’s coming off another fabulous season that saw him average 34 points, 9.1 rebounds and nine assists on 53.9 per cent shooting, but also a second straight defeat to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals – and the third in four years.

Given his star power it’s expected that most NBA free agent business will be held up by James’ forthcoming decision with the most likely suitors being the Los Angeles Lakers, Philadelphia 76ers and Cavaliers.

Adding fuel to the likelihood of James joining the Lakers is that he was reportedly spotted landing in Los Angeles Saturday by ESPN’s Arash Markazi, who staked out Van Nuys Airport near the city limits of L.A.

Further corroborating this, intrepid Twitter user Alex Harmer (@harmer805) took a photo of a particularly tall gentleman, who looks an awful lot like James, with a ton of luggage.

What this means, exactly, is anybody’s guess.

NBA free agency opens in less than eight hours.

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