Sabathia says he doesn't know LeBron's plans

CC Sabathia and LeBron James are close friends. Close enough that when the pitcher decided to sign with the Yankees as a free agent, the first person Sabathia told was James.

That doesn't mean Sabathia knows what James is going to do now that the NBA star is close to being a free agent, with the Knicks expected to be a hot and heavy bidder. Nor is he planning to lobby his friend to join him in New York.

"We'll have to see what happens, but I don't know," Sabathia said Friday, the day after James' Cavaliers were eliminated by the Celtics from the NBA playoffs. "I really don't have any idea what he's thinking."

Sabathia said he is "excited to see what happens from just a basketball fan aspect . . . If he does get a chance to team up with another great player, Chris Bosh or Dwyane Wade or someone else, it would be a great opportunity for him. Like I said, we'll have to wait and see."

Sabathia said he expects he'll have a conversation with James. "I'm sure he'll probably reach out at some point, but we'll have to just wait and see," said. "I'm sure he wants to just relax and not think about it right now."

Finally, asked for a prediction about where James will end up, Sabathia smiled and said: "No prediction from me."