Heat give full-court press for James
CLEVELAND — The Miami Heat used every precious second of their promised time with LeBron James — and then some.
Team president Pat Riley, coach Erik Spoelstra, billionaire owner Micky Arison and former center Alonzo Mourning spent nearly three hours making their presentation to try to lure James, the NBA's most coveted free agent, to sunny South Florida.
The Heat's delegation arrived at 10:20 a.m. James showed up two minutes before the scheduled 11 a.m. meeting wearing a T-shirt, shorts and a backpack.
At 1:50 p.m., the Heat's delegation paraded through the lobby of the IMG building without saying a word. Before getting in their cars, they passed the Los Angeles Clippers' two-man contingent of acting general manager Neil Olshey and executive Andy Roeser.
Olshey then joked that Riley went into overtime with James.
"Is coach going to get fined for going over his allotted time?" Olshey asked a person who works for James. "Don't worry, we'll be short."
The second day of LeBronmania didn't have as much star power.
On Thursday, James met with the New Jersey Nets, who brought billionaire owner Mikhail Prokhorov and hip hop superstar Jay-Z to help make their pitch. The New York Knicks followed with a dazzling presentation that required a rental van to haul their equipment.
James will visit on Saturday with the Chicago Bulls and Cavaliers, the two teams widely considered co-favorites to sign the two-time MVP.
James invited the Clippers to meet with him, but it's hard to imagine them making a compelling argument for him to sign.
The Cavs are expected to make a short, but sweet pitch to James.
Their message will focus on one word: Home.
