Rumor: Chris Paul is focused on recruiting LeBron James to the Rockets

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, Chris Paul is doing all that he can to recruit more talent, namely LeBron James, to join the Houston Rockets this summer.

Free agency starts on July 1, and there’s a possibility that a few star players could be on the move.

The face of the league, LeBron James, is rumored to be looking for a new home. He went back to Cleveland in 2014 and made good on his promise and brought a championship to the city in 2016. With a depleted Cavaliers team, LeBron has obviously realized that he can’t win another championship without a major roster overhaul, which is unlikely to happen. So the obvious choice for James would be to find a new team.

At 33 years old, LeBron James is over halfway through his career, yet he’s still arguably the best player in the league. Any team with hopes of becoming a contender will be after the King this summer, which means that Houston has a lot of competition.

Fortunately, Chris Paul is rumored to be involved in recruiting LeBron to Houston. Appearing on ESPN 2, Adrian Wojnarowski said that Paul “has his focus” on convincing James to join the Rockets.

According to @wojespn, Chris Paul isn't focused on his own free agency as much as he is bringing talent to Houston. "Somebody close to (Paul) said to me that he has his focus on recruiting LeBron (to Houston) as anything he's done in this league."

— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) June 19, 2018

As many NBA fans know, Paul and James have been good friends for years. We already know that LeBron likes to team up with his buddies, so Paul could be the bait that lures LeBron to Houston.

LeBron wants to join the Lakers?

Of course, with rumors flying everywhere there will be conflicting reports. On Monday, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said that Chris Paul is telling people that LeBron wants to go to LA, (h/t Anthony Irwin of Silver Screen and Roll).

“According to my sources, several things are happening. A) Chris Paul is telling folks LeBron ain’t trying to come to Houston. He wanna be in LA,” said Smith. “These are things I’m getting through the grapevine. Point number two: Folks are not so sure Paul George is coming to L.A. From what I’m being told, Sam Presti and the Oklahoma City Thunder are going to back up the Brinks truck for Paul George. They’re going to offer him the max.”

Of course, anything that comes from any reporter, especially Stephen A. Smith, has to be taken with a grain of salt. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs are in no rush to trade Kawhi Leonard, who is rumored to want to join the Lakers. Also, Smith said that his sources aren’t confident that Paul George is going to the Lakers.

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If that’s the case, then LeBron is also very unlikely to join the Lakers. Why would LeBron leave the Cavs to join a team that is very inexperienced and that isn’t ready to compete for a championship? At this point in James’ career, regular season accomplishments won’t add to his legacy. LeBron is on the hunt for rings and Houston is in the best position to get LeBron what he wants.