The Nets took an hour and a half to tell LeBron James what they have to offer him. Avery Johnson shouted that reporters he thought the meeting, filled with basketball discussions and business briefings, "went well." Mikhail Prokhorov, asked if he felt that way, replied, "Same opinion, I have the same opinion as them."
"Meeting went well," added Rod Thorn. "You can't tell what (LeBron's) reaction is at this time...We told our story, and we will see what happens." Jay-Z stayed behind for a few minutes then joined the others on their way to the airport.
However, one Nets insider who was not on the plane said the group left feeling the meeting had been "tremendous, touching on spectacular." He provided no details. Others close to the situation also exuded confidence but no one was willing to suggest it's a done deal...by any stretch.
And as the Nets left, the Knicks arrived. The Knicks spent two and a half hours with James...and afterward, Mike D'Antoni left feeling "cautiously optimistic". Donnie Walsh called it a "non-committal" meeting and said he expects another.
The Nets' contingent, which includes Prokhorov, Johnson, Thorn, Brett Yormark and Jay-Z, flew on to Chicago to meet Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade. Prokhorov's Gulfstream V, which carried the group to Cleveland, left for Chicago at about 1:30 for the short hop to Chicago. Both meetings were scheduled for the evening. Afterward, they were expected to fly back to New York. Other interviews are being scheduled.
It was a long day. The Gulfstream V left Teterboro airport at 9:45 a.m. to meet James at the IMG building in downtown Cleveland. The aircraft landed at 10:36 and the Nets delegation was in place at 11:00. All but Jay-Z were out of the IMG Building by 12:35. He stayed an additional 20 minutes talking with James.
UPDATE (2:52 ET): Rudy Gay is off the market. Multiple reports have him canceling meetings with other teams after agreeing to return to the Grizzlies with a five-year max contract.
- Nets busy day begins - Fred Kerber - New York Post Nets Blog
- Big Day For The Nets - Al Iannazzone - In the 'Zzone
- NBA Free Agency Rumors - SB Nation
- Brian Windhorst (PDcavsinsider) - twitter
- New Jersey Nets brass in Ohio for courtship of LeBron James - ESPN
- Hello, LeBron: Nets arrive in Ohio for their meeting - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- Nets Owner, Jay-Z Making Pitch to LeBron James - Tom Withers - AP
- Free-agent buzz: Nets 'initimidate' Knicks - Adrian Wojnarowski - Yahoo!
- LeBron, Nets finish meeting - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- LeBron's Schedule and the Nets Plan B - Chad Ford - ESPN
- James Hears Pitches from Nets and Knicks - Howard Beck & Jonathan Abrams - New York Times
- How Much Is LeBron Really Worth to Teams? - Darren Rovell - CNBC
- Jay-Z's new blueprint - Henry Abbott - ESPN
- Nets start the bidding for King James - Kevin Armstrong - New York Daily News
- Nets' NBA free agent search, Step 2: Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh - Dave D'Alessandro - Nets Blast
- Gay spurns others, re-signs with Griz for $82 million - David Aldridge - NBA.com
- Nets meeting with LeBron "tremendous" - Chad Ford - ESPN
- Nets' small forward Plan A -- LeBron James -- just might work - Dave D'Alessandro - Nets Blast
- Knicks give LeBron two options, Atlanta gives Johnson deadline - Ian Thomsen - Sports Illustrated
- Ahead In the LeBron Chase, Race? - Al Iannazzone - In the 'Zzone