LeBron James Not Interested In Fancy Free Agent Recruiting Pitches
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- LeBron James is 33 years old and has seen just about everything there is to see in the NBA. And that apparently applies off the court, too.
ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported that if (when) James opts out of his contract to become a free agent, he does not hope to be wooed and entertained with anything too fancy when teams make their pitches for him to sign a contract.
"James might meet or speak with a club official or owner at some point, but the elaborate presentations that have become common in NBA free agency over the years are unnecessary after 15 seasons in the league," the report stated.
Though LeBron seems to have no intention of repeating his 2010 "Decision," over-the-top recruiting pitches have become a regular occurrence in the NBA in recent years. Perhaps the most grandiose of them all came from the Clippers, who raised Blake Griffin's number to the rafters and placed his picture on a shirt along with Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, and Muhammad Ali. Griffin did choose to sign with the Clippers ... who then traded him to Detroit a few months later.
The Celtics have also been involved in some elaborate pitches. Tom Brady was part of the team's pitch to Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016, and the team brought Gordon Hayward to Fenway Park a year later to watch a personalized video on the center field scoreboard.
The Lakers -- considered to be a contender to sign James this summer -- have reportedly already begun their work in recruiting Paul George.
At this point in his career, James clearly isn't going to be impressed with any shiny objects that may be waved in front of him. He'll likely just go wherever he wants to go -- and then make some recruiting pitches of his own.
