Cavaliers To Base Their Presentation On Familiarity With James

No one knows LeBron James better than the Cavaliers.  That is one advantage they hope to use for their presentation which should begin some time around 11:00 AM.

According to Brian Windhorst, the Cavaliers won't go nearly as long as team like the Knick or Heat did, and the meeting will be kept light-hearted and easy going.

Their strategy, according to sources, will be somewhat different from the other teams' and focus on just how well they know their superstar. The meeting is expected to be relatively short, nowhere near the length of the Knicks' and Heat's, who met with James for more than two hours.

Owner Dan Gilbert, General Manager Chris Grant and new coach Byron Scott are expected to be the principles in the meeting, but other members of the organization that James is close with could be present as well.

The Cavs also plan on playing toward James' sense of humor and playfulness, something with which the team is very familiar. The plan is to keep it loose and informal because of their long-term relationship with James, who has been attending the meetings in T-shirts and sweats while his suitors arrive in $2,000 suits.

Of course, the most important matter at hand for the Cavaliers is proving to LeBron that they have a plan for this off-season to improve the roster and continue to take steps toward a NBA Championship.  That will be the task of Dan Gilbert, Chris Grant and new Head Coach Byron Scott.  Scott will need to demonstrate to James that he has a plan on how to use LeBron on the floor.

Scott and James already know each other. They have spent time together at events set up by mutual ally Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets. But James doesn't know Scott as a coach. Scott hopes to change that today.

Speaking as if he were addressing James directly, Scott said at his introductory news conference on Friday in Independence that he wants the Cavs to be a running offensive team. That is something James has privately, and sometimes publicly, wanted to do more over the last several seasons.

"You could almost look at LeBron as a Magic Johnson type," Scott said, comparing James to his former teammate with the Lakers and close friend. "He has that type of ability, that type of skill."

The Cavs will also have to show that they can, indeed, improve the roster, much like many of the teams going after LeBron are trying to do.

After the Cavs, the Bulls are expected to make their pitch.