It took slightly longer than expected, but LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers came to a contract agreement early Thursday afternoon. James signs a two year deal worth $46.9 million. The next expected moves for the Cavs include a push for Dwyane Wade, and the re-signing of Iman Shumpert, along with the possibility of doing the same with JR Smith. James’ skills have shown no signs of erosion, and owner Dan Gilbert has shown a willingness to shell out important income to retain his greatest star surrounded with high-quality players.
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James was slow to make it official that he will be back with the Cavaliers while prompting he team to settle other players contracts first.
James followed the same contract blueprint last year and, in all likelihood, he will continue taking similar deals as the cap rises over the next few years.
James, 30, said he would “get back into the lab” to start working on his game in late August and ramp up his workouts in September, and would use the flights to and from China to decide which area of his game he’d like to improve.
Love was forced to sit out the National Basteball Association Finals because of a shoulder injury that required surgery. And LeBron James is getting a lot of it.
According to ESPN’s Tom Haberstroh, James accounted for 38.3% of the Cavs points int he Finals, second only to Michael Jordan in the 1993 Finals.
James never had any plans of leaving the Cavaliers, but wanted to wait and see what the organization would do during free agency in order to make a run at the National Basteball Association championship again next season.
Love said he and James met in Los Angeles shortly before free agency opened.
WIZARDS: The team signed Gary Neal, acquired Jared Dudley from Milwaukee and agreed to terms with swingman Alan Anderson, who will help replace what was lost when Paul Pierce decided to join the Clippers. It puts pressure on the Cavs to remain competitive and go all out no matter what in order to keep him happy.
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Hibbert played seven seasons for the Pacers, averaging 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks. Dumoulin had just one goal in eight games last season and was held pointless in five postseason games. According to ESPN, the Cavaliers have not given up on the idea of bringing back the shooting guard, but he must agree to a smaller contract than what his player option originally dictated.
