James is also set for a face-to-face meeting with Heat president Pat Riley.
The Cleveland Cavaliers reportedly believe that they have a genuine chance of persuading LeBron James to leave the Miami Heat and return to the franchise in free agency this summer.
The 29-year-old is currently considering his options with a number of teams monitoring his situation as the tension grows in Miami over whether or not the franchise will give in to his demands and offer him a max contract in order to stay.
It is understood that he will hold a face-to-face meeting with Heat team president Pat Riley at some stage this week which will likely go a long way in determining whether or not he remains at the AA Arena ahead of next season.
While the Los Angeles Lakers are amongst the teams that have previously been mentioned as capable of convincing James to start a new challenge elsewhere, it is now reported by ESPN that Cavs owner Dan Gilbert has already sat down with James’ agent Rich Paul to discuss the possibility of a return.
Following his infamous exit in 2010 to join the Heat, there was much ill-feeling between James and Gilbert, but the latter appears to be open to mending old relationships in order to construct what would undoubtedly be talented roster.
The Cavaliers believe that in point guard Kyrie Irving and young stars such as Anthony Bennett and recent No.1 overall pick Andrew Wiggins they have the youthful pieces around James that would excite him about possibly returning.
However, Cleveland don’t have the cap space to sign James to the $20.7m maximum contract that he is looking for, and as a result they would have to press ahead with trade talks involving point guard Jarrett Jack in order to open up space to make an intriguing offer.
While the Cavaliers could emerge as a legitimate option in the coming days, it is still expected that talks between James and Riley will ultimately result in a compromise on both sides in order to make a deal happen.
Since opting out of his contract almost two weeks ago, James has sat back and watched how the free agency market unfolds before making any concrete decision over his own future.
His decision is also likely to impact on both Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, with the duo either being forced to take drastic pay cuts in order to accommodate James and his max deal, or if he decides to leave then it remains to be seen in what direction the Heat move forward from there.
Nevertheless, it is still widely expected that he will re-sign along with the other two members of the Big Three despite Cleveland now emerging as a real threat to Miami to secure James’ future.
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