Representatives from the Nets basketball and business sides will fly on Mikhail Prokhorov's Gulfstream V to a secret Ohio location where LeBron James will hold court early Thursday. Initial reports had Devin Harris onboard too, but team officials say that was never part of the plan.
In addition to Prokhorov, Jay-Z, Rod Thorn and Avery Johnson, Brett Yormark and Onexim CEO Dmitry Razumov are expected. Razumov is a member of the Nets board.
It's one of several meetings the Nets have set up, Dave D'Alessandro reports. On Friday, the Nets will meet in New York with Chris Bosh in the morning, then Dwyane Wade in the afternoon. Then, over the weekend, it will be Rudy Gay's turn to be wooed, somewhere in the New Jersey area.
Meetings with Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer and David Lee have yet to be scheduled. And surprise, they may sit down with Dirk Nowitzki too. But if talks between the Suns and Stoudemire continue to show progress, there might not be a meeting there.
For Thorn, the interviews represent a valedictory, an opportunity to add the biggest free agent signing to a resume' that already includes the biggest draft pick in the last 25 years (Michael Jordan) and the biggest trade in the last 25 years (Jason Kidd for Stephon Marbury). But aside from all that, Steve Politi writes, the Nets will have a hard time answering a key question posed by free agents, "Who's in charge here?"
- The Nets free agent itinerary: Week 1 - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
- Nets hoping laundry list of assets can help them snag a top free agent - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
- An inside look at NBA free agency; can the Nets land one of these top talents? - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
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Nets won't have an answer for the critical question LeBron James has to ask - Steve Politi - Star-Ledger
- Nets and Knicks Ready to Visit James - Howard Beck - New York Times
- Nets confident they will land pair - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Yi-ppy! Trade creates additional salary cap space - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- City supremacy - George Willis - New York Post
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Slipping in LeBron Derby, Knicks remain confident - Marc Berman - New York Post
- Nets Could Be Free-Agent Winners - Al Iannazzone - The Nets Insider
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Nets are ready to cash in - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- Talk won’t be cheap in NBA - Steve Adamek - The Record
- N.Y.C. spotlight lure for sponsors - Jeff Roberts - The Record
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Stoudemire, Suns make progress - Adrian Wojnarowski - Yahoo! Sports
- Rod Thorn awaits a last shot at buzzer for Nets - Brian Mahoney - AP
- The Nets prepare for free agency (Video) - Michelle Yu - SNY
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A Summer With Everything At Stake - Sean Deveney - The Sporting News