Altman: Cavs have established 'good dialogue' with LeBron's reps

With LeBron James needing to inform the Cleveland Cavaliers by June 29 if he plans to opt out of the final year of his contract or not, Cavs general manager Koby Altman says that positive conversation has started.

"We continue to have good dialogue with his management team," Altman said Thursday, via ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "We want to respect his space during this process ... that's probably all I can say at this point regarding him, but we don't take him for granted. We love him, this city loves him. He means the world to us and this franchise."

James' longtime agent Rich Paul is based in Cleveland. James is expected to decline his player option for $35.6 million next season and become an unrestricted free agent. All signs point to the Cavaliers needing to substantially improve their roster in order to lure him back for another tour.

Prior to Thursday's draft however, most reports indicated the Cavs were unlikely to trade their pick for players, and would make the selection regardless of James' future plans. They ended up taking explosive guard Collin Sexton out of Alabama.

When asked if James would approve of the 19-year-old carrying a significant scoring load on a contender, Altman deflected.

"That's a great question," Altman said. "(James) went through it this year a little bit with some of our young guys, especially in the playoffs. What's amazing, he talks about this all the time - the best teacher is experience."

For his part, Sexton said Thursday he wants to help James return to another NBA Finals.