The Sun-Times reports on the Bulls’ preparations for meeting with LeBron today:
The Bulls’ brass was expected to depart for Cleveland this morning where they will be the last of the six teams to make their presentations to James.
The New Jersey Nets and New York Knicks went Thursday, followed by the Heat and Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. James’ team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, is expected to go first today and make a brief presentation followed by the Bulls.
Not surprisingly, the tight-lipped Bulls have kept the details of their presentation close to the vest. Whether they keep the talk focused solely on basketball or mention some of the virtues of the city of Chicago and playing in the United Center remain to be seen.
But you can be sure that at some point someone in the Bulls’ four-man contingent — chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, executive vice president John Paxson, general manager Gar Forman and coach Tom Thibodeau — will make the point that Derrick Rose, an All-Star at 21, isn’t close to his potential.
Will the fact that the Bulls are going last make a difference in the end? The Cavaliers, who will meet with LeBron this morning before the Bulls’ contingent gets there, have their own ideas on how to keep him in his home state:
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.