LeBron James is inching closer to a decision on his next home, and the Cleveland Cavaliers remain the front runners -- helped by yet another advantage over the rest of the competition.
James has chosen to stay detached from the free agency recruitment process this time around. He is not conducting free agent pitches as he did in 2010, nor is he allowing owners or team executives to meet with him to try and convince him to sign with their team. He is keeping everyone at arm's length.
LeBron is taking his time
There was a possibility that he was merely taking his time setting those up, and that at some point in the process -- perhaps even at Las Vegas Summer League with the entire league gathered together -- he would begin having those meetings. That teams such as the Minnesota Timberwolves and Miami Heat would get their chance to pitch LeBron on joining their championship pursuits.
That possibility has died, it now appears, as the reporting is that LeBron has "all of the information" and is working toward a decision. That decision may already be made, or it may take weeks, but it seems that the information-gathering stage is over.
That means that only one team had the privilege of an executive talking with LeBron James face-to-face, and that was the Cleveland Cavaliers. While every other team was limited to sending voice memos to agent Rich Paul or making pleas to LeBron on the broadcast of a summer league game, the Cavaliers got a real in-person interaction.
The reason? They employ one of LeBron's best friends and his former teammate, Brandon Weems.
Cleveland has a clear advantage
James and Weems played together in high school at St Vincent St Mary, and they have remained close ever since. Rich Paul called the two of them "brothers" in a recent podcast appearance. When LeBron returned to his hometown of Akron to enjoy some time off, he and Weems were seen together multiple times over multiple days.
That matters because Weems is also the assistant general manager for the Cleveland Cavaliers. After spending time in the college ranks as an assistant coach, Weems joined his hometown Cavaliers as a scout in 2015. In the years since, he has worked his way up the organizational ladder and is now a top candidate to replace Mike Gansey as GM.
Weems got access to LeBron not because the Cavaliers received preferential treatment, but merely because he is close friends with James. Yet the fact remains that he is both things, and that means Cleveland got access that no other team in the running did. That was a small advantage wrapped in a coincidence when every team was likely to get their time to pitch LeBron; now that no other team will, it's a significant advantage.
Cleveland remains the frontrunner as of Monday night, per Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, and the advantages they have remain numerous: unparalleled access, a shared history, the hometown factor, the storybook ending. But they also have a team that went to the Conference Finals last season, something none of the other candidates can boast.
Will Brandon Weems be the piece that pushes them over the top? Will LeBron be announcing in the next few days that he is returning to Cleveland one more time to try and deliver another championship?
A decision appears to be close, and the Cavaliers are in the lead.
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