LeBron James's agent reportedly implied James would begin meeting face-to-face with interested teams if Heat president Pat Riley didn't make significant improvements to Miami's roster soon. Rich Paul, the agent for James, has already met with the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Dallas Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
Although James reportedly is giving Riley time to improve the roster before making a decision in free agency, the four-time MVP appears willing to wait for only so long.
"After conducting meetings with three NBA teams interested in pursuing free-agent star LeBron James, his agent suggested to owners and executives present that a failure of Miami president Pat Riley to rapidly recruit a strong supporting cast could bring finalists back to meet with James himself next week, league sources told Yahoo Sports," Wojnarowski wrote on Thursday.
Paul met with Cleveland, Dallas and Phoenix over Wednesday and Thursday, according to Wojnarowski. Paul also spoke with the Houston Rockets on the phone, but the team was not granted a meeting.
ESPN reported on Thursday Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak would fly out to meet Paul in Cleveland either on Thursday night or Friday.
One interesting development reported by Wojnarowski is the apparent "breakdown in communication" between James and Heat teammates Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, leaving open the possibility James could indeed be finished in South Beach.
"There's clearly a breakdown in communication between LeBron and [Wade and Bosh]," one executive who participated in the meetings with Paul told Yahoo Sports. "[James is] giving Riley time to go get players for them but if that doesn't happen in the next few days ... LeBron seems ready to explore the market."
Another executive, though, told Wojnarowski he thought the reported disconnect was a "smokescreen."
James can't sign a contract with any team until July 10.
