LeBron James is known for taking an active role in convincing talent to come play alongside him. This was prominent during his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and with a major offseason in Los Angeles on the horizon, it has been assumed that he’d attempt do the same with the Lakers. On Thursday, we learned that this will be the case, as James intends on trying to convince Kyrie Irving to come to L.A.
But Irving isn’t the only potential free agent that James is targeting. Brian Windhorst of ESPN appeared on Pardon the Interruption and reported that James, who he lightheartedly called the “tamperer-in-chief,” has already reached out to both Jimmy Butler and Kawhi Leonard.
“From what I understand, [LeBron] has already begun the recruiting process. I’ve heard he has had contact with Kawhi Leonard. I’ve heard he’s had contact with Jimmy Butler.”
—@WindhorstESPN reporting on @PTI pic.twitter.com/2ppJjjL60h
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 24, 2019
“From what I understand, he has already begun the recruiting process,” Windhorst said. “I’ve heard he has had contact with Kawhi Leonard, I’ve heard he’s had contact with Jimmy Butler. There’s no tampering enforcement by players, and while Magic Johnson, the guy that got in trouble for tampering before, is no longer there, LeBron is tamperer-in-chief of the Lakers right now.”
Windhorst mentioned that meeting with James may not be able to help the Lakers overcome some of the other issues they could have in convincing top free agents to join the team, going as far as to say the trade market may be a better place to turn to get a star. But still, this summer is going to be gigantic for the franchise, and James is apparently already putting in the leg work to convince a big name to put on the purple and gold.
