Cavaliers, Bulls cap meetings with LeBron

When the Bulls recruiting team drove away in a pair of SUVs after meeting with free agent LeBron James, they were booed by the few dozen Cleveland fans who lined the streets trying to greet their hometown hero.

No one enjoys being the villain, but maybe that's a victory in itself. There were no reports of the locals jeering the Nets, Knicks, Heat or Clippers after those teams met with James.

Everyone seems to sense that the Bulls are the biggest threat to lure the two-time MVP away from Ohio.

The Bulls' contingent spent three hours meeting with James at IMG headquarters in downtown Cleveland. On hand were chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, vice president of basketball operations John Paxson, general manager Gar Forman and coach Tom Thibodeau.

They left without a commitment from James, but feel he may be leaning toward signing with the Bulls. According to a source familiar with the discussions, the biggest factor holding James back is the guilt he would feel by leaving the Akron/Cleveland area, where he's lived his entire life.

The Bulls pitched the chance to win NBA championships in one of the world's greatest cities. The Cavaliers produced the league's best record the past two seasons, but haven't been able to supply James with the kind of talented sidekick he'll need to win a title.

In Chicago, James could team up with Derrick Rose and another all-star caliber free agent. If James jumps on board, the Bulls should have no trouble filling the other salary slot they have available.

In the previous two days, the Bulls met with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh (twice each), Carlos Boozer and David Lee, and had conversations with Atlanta guard Joe Johnson, who remained uncommitted as of Saturday evening.

Now that the meetings have ended, what happens next? The Bulls are expecting everyone to spend the Fourth of July holiday catching their breath. James has indicated he'd like to make a decision by Monday or Tuesday, but there is no word yet on when or how he'll announce his decision.

There's a chance the Bulls could end up with both James and Wade, although that option appears to be a decided long shot. Wade and Bosh went to dinner two straight nights in Chicago and it's possible they plan to join forces either in Chicago or Miami.

Maybe the Bulls should turn to a popular kids basketball drill - where the coach throws the ball into the middle of the floor, calls out two numbers and the players race to see who can grab the ball and score a basket first.

With James on one side and Wade on the other, the Bulls could tell the two superstars the maximum-salary slot is available for whomever accepts first. The winner would be in good position to dominate the Eastern Conference in the coming years and if Bosh chose to follow Wade to Miami, the Bulls are confident they could land Utah's Carlos Boozer to join James.

Everything looks promising for the Bulls right now, but there's still a chance James and Wade could stick with their current teams. In that case, the Bulls would likely see what it would take to lure Johnson away from Atlanta's reported maximum-salary offer.

James was all business as he left the Cleveland office building on Saturday. He didn't speak to reporters or acknowledge the fans.

Wade, who grew up in southwest suburban Robbins, spoke to Channel 5 outside Trump Tower on Saturday morning and expressed his fondness for Chicago.

"I love Chicago. Chicago's always been home," Wade said. "I had very interesting meetings with the Bulls. I think a lot of people are surprised, probably because of certain comments and the way things have been portrayed in the media. Chicago totally makes things a lot different, because it has a piece of my heart.

"This is the place where my vision of becoming an NBA player came true. So I just got a decision to make and I've got a weekend to think about it. And come hopefully the beginning of next week sometime, (I'll) make that decision."

A wild card in Wade's decision is his quest to gain custody of his two sons from ex-wife Siohvaughn, who lives in the Chicago area. Wade was recently granted temporary custody and a trial is scheduled to begin on July 19.

Bosh summed up the two days he spent in Chicago with a Twitter message.

"Finally back in my environment," he wrote. "Free agency has been a whirlwind. This decision is not going to be easy."

Bosh's environment is presumably Dallas, where he grew up and keeps a permanent residence. There were multiple reports Saturday that Toronto didn't appreciate Bosh sending tweets about his free-agent experience and are less likely to orchestrate a sign-and-trade deal to give him a six-year contract.

Realistically, though, it would make little sense for the Raptors to turn down an offer of Taj Gibson, James Johnson or first-round draft picks from the Bulls, just to get back at Bosh. In some ways, the Bulls might prefer Boozer, because he'd likely accept a smaller deal and the Bulls could hang on to Gibson as sixth man.

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