LeBron James says he’s recruiting superstars to LA, just like he always has

James is trying to get Anthony Davis, but he says his efforts are nothing new.

LeBron James signed a four-year deal in Los Angeles, so he won’t be a free agent this summer. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t trying his best to sway the decisions of the top players who can switch teams next summer.

Actually, it’s the exact opposite. He never stopped.

“I’ve always recruited,” James told ESPN’s Rachel Nichols in a sit-down interview that will air Christmas Day at halftime of the Lakers-Golden State Warriors game on ABC. “I’ve been trying to get guys to come play with me since, like, 2007. I’ve got rejected a lot. But I’ve also have not got rejected a lot.”

James has been an unrestricted free agent three times in his career — once before leaving Cleveland for Miami, once before leaving Miami for Cleveland and once again before leaving the Cavaliers for the Lakers over the summer. Naturally, it was much easier getting players to join him in Miami than it was in Cleveland

“A lot of people didn’t want to come to Cleveland, let me just throw that out there,” James told Nichols. “I tried to recruit so many guys to come to Cleveland, and we actually had -- I had -- a couple guys and it just didn’t work out.”

“It wasn’t hard getting guys in Miami, I’ll tell you that,” he continued. “So now that I think being in L.A., I don’t think it would be that hard to get guys here.”

James once tried to recruit Trevor Ariza to Cleveland back in 2010, but players were reluctant to join him until he signed a long-term extension with the Cavaliers. He didn’t, and instead left for four years with the Heat. Ariza ended up signing a five-year deal in Houston.

James’s comments come on the heels of his recruiting efforts to bring Anthony Davis to Los Angeles. James was asked by ESPN’s Dave McMenamin what it would be like to play alongside Davis in Los Angeles. His answer made small-market general managers feel like they could never retain their superstar talent.

”That would be amazing. That would be amazing, like, duh. That would be incredible.”

Davis, though, is not a free agent until 2020, so Los Angeles would have to acquire him via trade. The 2019 NBA free agency pool is the deepest it’s ever been with All-Star talents like Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kemba Walker, Klay Thompson, Kyrie Irving, Khris Middleton, Tobias Harris, DeMarcus Cousins and Al Horford on the market.

Any number of those players could join forces with The King in Los Angeles, though it is worth asking whether All-Stars still want to sacrifice their game in order to playh with with him. James did say those comments by Kevin Durant originally made him “pissed” before he spoke to KD and learned the full context.

Let’s see if Bron can back up his words.