Top NBA free agents planning to compare notes
Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade incites the fans during the fourth quarter against the Boston Celtics in the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs. (April 25, 2010) Credit: MCT
Some of the NBA's top free agents will discuss their plans before the calendar flips to July 1, when teams are permitted to make offers. Dwyane Wade - who along with LeBron James is at the top of the list of superstars expected to test the market in this blockbuster summer for free agency - said he believes some players' decisions will be made based on what others choose to do.
"I think we'll all sit down, and before one of us makes a decision, all of us will have spoken to each other and thinking," Wade told the Chicago Tribune. "A lot of decisions what other players are willing to do and what other guys want to do. So it's not just a 'me' situation here. We all have to look and see what each other is thinking."
A source close to one of the top free agents said Wade already has started the recruiting process for the Heat, having reached out to others to gauge their interest in joining him in South Beach. Although James might consider leaving Cleveland to join Wade in Miami, it is believed that Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire is the more likely candidate.
Yes, while the NBA has been slapping fines on owners and general managers for hypothetically discussing James - Hawks owner Michael Gearon was fined $25,000 Thursday for making comments that violated the NBA's anti-tampering rules - Wade is free to do some recruiting for Pat Riley and the Heat.
Here's where it could get interesting: James wanted the Cavaliers to trade for Stoudemire at the deadline in February, but the deal never came to fruition. It will be interesting to see if James and Wade get into a recruiting war over the top available big men, be it Stoudemire or the Raptors' Chris Bosh. Or do the four of them talk it over before July 1 and pair off?
Three of the four - James, Wade and Bosh - are represented by Creative Artists Agency. Henry Thomas, the agent for Wade and Bosh, joined James' agent, Leon Rose, at CAA this year.
Pre-draft workouts. The Knicks will work out five players Friday at the MSG Training Center, with athletic, shot-blocking forward Jarvis Varnado (Mississippi State) and point guard Greivis Vasquez (Maryland) as the headliners.
