LeBron: No More Free Agency Questions

ORLANDO -- If the thought of playing in Miami alongside Dwyane Wade next season had any appeal to LeBron James, it was hard to tell from his comments Wednesday night before his Cavaliers played the Orlando Magic.

Wade started the conversation, but James had no intention of finishing it Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Wade had addressed the issue with reporters in Miami, touching off another frenzy of speculation concerning next summer's free agent market, which will include both Wade and James.

The two have been friends for years and the Heat will have enough salary cap space to re-sign Wade, along with offering a maximum contact to James, who is expected to be pursued by the New York Knicks, New Jersey Nets and Chicago Bulls.

"Me and Dwyane have been friends for 7-8 years, and we've talked about a lot of things,'' James said Wednesday. "And we've both said the one thing is to stay focused on leading our own guys in the right direction. It (playing together) doesn't come up often.''

"I'm going to stop answering free agent questions until the offseason. I owe it my teammates, myself, my organization to focus on this season."
- LeBron James James was asked if playing next season in a warm weather city was appealing, and he just shook his head.

"I just want to win,'' he said.

James and the Cavs are coming off a trip to New York, where he was peppered by similar questions about his free agent status and playing in Madison Square Garden.

"Those questions don't bother me, to be honest,'' he said. "I go in with one goal and that's to win the next game.''

James spent five minutes talking with reporters about a variety of other topics, about playing with Shaquille O'Neal, about the status of Delonte West, about losing to the Magic last spring in the conference final.

But when talk returned to his free agent status and whether he would like to play alongside Wade in Miami, he ended the conversation.

"This free agent talk is getting old, it's getting older. I'm going to stop answering free agent questions until the offseason,'' he said. "I owe it my teammates, myself, my organization to focus on this season. This is the last time this season I'm going to answer free agent questions until the end of the season.''

Wade earlier talked at length about the topic. This was the best part, coming from the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel.

"I mean it's a longshot, no question about it, it's a longshot. I mean, I'm in Miami; he's in Cleveland. He's been put in a position in Cleveland where he has the opportunity to compete for a championship now. And I'm in Miami, where I've won a championship and this is where I love to be. So it's not like we're both looking over our shoulders, saying, 'I want to get out of here.' It's a longshot, but, at the end of the day, it is a shot."