The Denver Nuggets are aggressively pursuing a meeting with star free-agent forward LeBron James, a league source told Yahoo Sports, hoping to convince James that Denver’s talent makes the Nuggets an ideal short-term fit.
Denver has been in contact with James’ agent, Rich Paul, and has doggedly tried to position the team as James’ best option, the source said. Paul George’s decision to re-sign with Oklahoma City has taken a potential James teammate in Los Angeles off the board, and thus far the Lakers’ talks with San Antonio for Kawhi Leonard have gained no traction.
The Nuggets were busy on Sunday, agreeing to terms with Nikola Jokic on a five-year, $147 million deal and with Will Barton on a four-year, $53 million contract. Denver doesn’t have the cap space to sign James, but the Nuggets have several sizable expiring contracts that could be off-loaded to teams that want to clear cap space for the summer of 2019.
The Nuggets are eager for an opportunity to sell James on a frontcourt pairing with Jokic, a 23-year-old franchise center and one of the NBA’s best passing big men. A Jokic-James pairing would instantly make Denver one of the best playmaking teams in the league.
The Nuggets also have Jamal Murray, a rising star who transitioned to point guard last season and averaged 16.7 points.
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