NBA news: There is no news

There is no news.  Not until LeBron does something.  (There is plenty of Blazer news, but I'll address that in a different post).

The decision should be posed on his website, according to recent rumors.  All this makes it seem as if it will happen pretty soon, though in the end LBJ has a lot of time to figure out what to do.

But here's the quick update on the story so far.

There is a real chance, it seems, that James could return to Cleveland.  His agent has been pushing this.  His family seems to be pushing this.  In the end it will be LeBron's decision what to do, but it is clear he too has interest in returning there.

Pat Riley is meeting James with Wade and an entourage of Miami bigwigs in Las Vegas (where James is running a basketball camp) today at 3 pm.  Riley is approaching James not unlike he first approached him, really--as a player who identifies his home as Akron and loves Cleveland, and who has to be wooed to come to South Beach.  That this could have happened is simply amazing.

It also shows how many strings LeBron can pull, where the real power is in the league.  It isn't so much a conflict as a flexing of muscle that we are witnessing between him and the Heat organization.

Meanwhile, the Cavs have handled everything brilliantly, which is more than many people could have expected from him. Not only have they set themselves up long term--like hiring an extremely capable but also pliable coach, and committing to Irving--but they are making quick moves that display a certain savvy that we haven't seen before. Today they pulled off a three team trade with the Nets and Celtics: they moved Jarrett Jack to the Nets, and they gave up a protected first round pick (how many of these have) and the very promising Tyler Zeller to the Celtics.  They now have nearly $30 million in cap room, more than enough to sign a LeBron or a Kevin Love.  They are also pursuing Chandler Parsons if the LeBron deal falls through.

They are also pursuing Mike Miller and Ray Allen, as a way to bring LBJ into the fold.  Miller was contacted by James (according to rumor) along with some other nameless player (I'm sure the mystery man's identity will out eventually), in order to see if he'd be willing to eventually play with James on the team he may end up on.  This comes after the year in which the Heat amnestied Miller to the Grizzlies and seriously crippled the Heat roster, with no really great justification for doing so.  The move is another one that makes clear who really wants to wield power in the Heat-LBJ relationship.

As this all occurs, Houston is pursuing Bosh (Zach Lowe has an amazing article on exactly how complicated that decision becomes for him given the "sacrifice" they made to the Heat).  This is a potentially devastating move for the West: the Rockets would be terrifying with Bosh and Howard.  Unfortunately, it still isn't clear that Bosh will leave.