If you're a Miami Heat fan you have to be concerned with what's been happening recently in Cleveland. Any belief that unrestricted free agent LeBron James won't return to Cleveland next season is disappearing as the Cavaliers are rapidly clearing salary-cap space to lure the Akron native back home.
The Cavaliers took part in a three-team deal Wednesday that sent guards Jarrett Jack and Sergey Karasev to the Brooklyn Nets. Cleveland also shipped center Tyler Zeller and a protected 2016 first-round pick to the Boston Celtics in the trade.
Boston received Nets guard Marcus Thornton, while Cleveland collected the draft rights to Ilkan Karaman and Edin Bavcic.
The deal cannot become official until Thursday when the NBA's moratorium on signings and trades is lifted.
But the Cavs still aren't done wheeling and dealing; the team is reportedly trying to convince veteran sharpshooter Ray Allen to join them for the 2014-2015 season. The 38-year-old Allen spent the past two seasons with the Heat and building a close relationship with James.
Cleveland Cavaliers pursue Ray Allen https://t.co/QjO8GZYY7P
— ESPN New York (@ESPNNewYork) July 9, 2014
It doesn't end there: The Cavs have also turned their attention to small forward Mike Miller - another of James' close friends. The two were teammates in Miami for three seasons. Miller averaged 7.1 points last season with the Memphis Grizzlies.
The relationship James and Miller developed while in Miami remains strong. And Miller would undoubtedly be a key piece in swaying James back to the Cavaliers - the team that selected him No. 1 overall out of high school in the 2003 NBA Draft. James played the first seven years of his pro career in Cleveland.
According to ESPN.com, this how James described Miller to Bleacher Report: "Yeah, he was just that stable guy. I mean, Mike, everything that he went through, both injuries and being in and out of the lineups, and not one day did he ever come to work with an 'I don't want to be here' attitude. Like never. And we all respected that. And for a guy like that who's done so much in his career, to come in with that mind-set every day, we all saw that."
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