LeBron's recruiting pitch to Ariza

By now most of the early risers have see this one from the Worldwide Leader: In a last-ditch effort to recruit Trevor Ariza away from the Houston Rockets, LeBron James told Ariza he would remain with the Cavaliers past 2010, according to a person close to Ariza. "Trevor asked LeBron if he would be in Cleveland after next season," the source said. "And LeBron said, 'I'll be there. Of course, I'll be there.'" It's got Cleveland pretty excited, but Ariza didn't think enough of it to take the Cavs offer of the MLE over the Rockets. Ariza apparently didn't fully believe LeBron. At least not enough to back out of an agreement with Houston. When James told Ariza he'd be a Cavalier past next season, Ariza was less than convinced. "He thought it was just a recruiting tool," the source said. "LeBron definitely said it, but until he signs the contract it doesn't mean much." See how the game can come back to beat you? The Cavs are trying to upgrade the roster for LeBron but the best they could do so far was add a slow Shaq, who will push the even slower Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the bench and clog up the middle of the floor, where LeBron likes to do most of his driving. This team really needs to get more athletic, which is why they were so interested in Ariza. But you can understand why any free agent would be apprehensive to commit to the Cavs right now. There is a great deal of uncertainty surrounding LeBron's future. Of course James can erase all of that. He can sign an extention beginning tomorrow, if he wants. Then again, most of the really good free agents are already gone.