The rumor mill is in overdrive Authentic Dorance Armstrong Jr. Jersey , with nuggets such as these: LeBron James has looked at schools in Los Angeles, he’s not particularly fond of Houston and he’s hugging restaurant diners in Miami.

Ah, free agency is back.

It technically starts Sunday at 12:01 a.m. EDT in the East, 9:01 p.m. Saturday out West, but is already well underway everywhere in the sense that everybody is talking about what might happen. James is once again the biggest domino that will fall; he may opt out of his contract, but that doesn’t mean he’ll leave Cleveland – and he may opt in for nearly $36 million next season, but that doesn’t mean he’s certain to be staying, either.

Boston guard Kyrie Irving has a word for these days: Pre-agency.

”That’s actually a title to describe what’s going on now,” Irving said. ”But yeah, we know that 12 a.m. July 1st, that’s when it just starts getting nutty.”

James is hardly the only person who will create that nuttiness.

Paul George has a decision to make about his future; stay in Oklahoma City or move on, with the Los Angeles Lakers believed to be his dream destination. San Antonio has big decisions to make about Kawhi Leonard; they can take a risk and keep him for the final year of his contract, offer him a new deal or trade him elsewhere. And what happens in their cases will surely impact what James does, much in the same way the Chris Bosh decision in 2010 helped really pave the way for him to go to Miami.

Thing is, nobody knows what’ll happen. Hence, the intrigue.

”That’s the challenge in this league,” James said during the NBA Finals Authentic Ryan Switzer Jersey , when his Cavaliers were swept by Golden State. ”I think every GM and every president and every coaching staff is trying to figure out how they can make up the right matchups to compete for a championship and win a championship.”

The Los Angeles Lakers will have about $61 million in cap space; half the league might not have any. So this summer, with cap space for most teams at a premium, the biggest moves might have to come through trades.

”There has been a lot of discussion with a lot of teams about a lot of players,” Heat President Pat Riley said. ”I just feel there’s a restlessness on the part of teams, and also there’s a reluctance to do things. … It’s hard to pull the trigger on that kind of thing.”

Golden State’s Kevin Durant will be a free agent in name only – he’s already said he’s returning to the Warriors. Golden State will spend free agency bolstering its bench, and the best team in the NBA should be better in the next couple of weeks.

All that’s left to decide there is what terms Durant wants.

”Whatever he wants,” Golden State general manager Bob Myers said. ”Sometimes you don’t negotiate. … He’s earned the right to sign whatever deal he wants. I just want him to sign `a’ deal. I want him to be happy and want him to know that we want him as long as he wants to be here. He’s earned that, to kind of lay out the terms.”

Philadelphia isn’t tampering, but isn’t being shy: Both coach Brett Brown and newly minted rookie of the year Ben Simmons have come out this offseason and said how much a great veteran will help their team.

”Maybe that is a free agent, a big free agent who we can lean on and learn from,” Simmons said.

He didn’t say ”LeBron,” but sure sounds like James.

Houston will look to add James as well in an effort to find the formula that will supplant the Warriors. The Rockets nearly ousted Golden State in the Western Conference finals, wasting double-digit leads in both Game 6 and Game 7 of that series – all while Chris Paul, who seems likely to stay in Houston but could choose to leave, was sidelined with a bad hamstring.

But Rockets star James Harden, the NBA’s MVP, didn’t sound like he would be clamoring for James to come to Houston.

”I don’t think there is a piece that we need to bring in or take away Authentic Quenton Nelson Jersey ,” Harden said. ”We’re great with what we have.”

Miami is the place where James left Cleveland for once before, and it’s clear that he still enjoys South Florida. And the rumors about him and the Lakers have swirled for some time, though Lakers President Magic Johnson – perhaps offering a word of caution – said the rebuild of his team will take two summers.

”We don’t know what people are going to decide to do and we can’t control that,” Johnson said. ”So if guys decide not to come here, it’s not a failure. We turn to next summer. Next summer, if nobody comes and I’m still sitting here like this, then it’s a failure.”

James isn’t looking to fail. But until he decides where he can win, everyone waits.

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AP Basketball Writer Brian Mahoney contributed to this story.

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Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash turned to bench coach Charlie Montoyo early in the game and mentioned how closely Jonathan Loaisiga resembled a former Yankees great and future Hall of Famer.

Cash just hopes this 23-year-old prospect doesn’t develop the same nasty stuff closer Mariano Rivera once featured.

Loaisiga pitched three-hit ball over five impressive innings to win his major league debut, and New York beat the Rays 5-0 on Friday night.

”There were some similarities,” Cash said while mentioning the cutter perfected by baseball’s career saves leader. ”Don’t give him any ideas, though. He doesn’t need to be pitching in the ninth inning anytime soon. Talented young kid. Very poised.”

Didi Gregorius homered off ex-Yankee Nathan Eovaldi, and Gary Sanchez broke out of a long slump with a three-run double in the eighth. Giancarlo Stanton had a sacrifice fly for New York, which improved the best record in the majors to 45-20.

Jonathan Holder, David Robertson, Dellin Betances and Adam Warren each worked an inning to finish the four-hitter.

The Rays have lost 17 of their last 21 at Yankee Stadium.

Loaisiga (1-0) was called up from Double-A Trenton to fill in for injured starter Masahiro Tanaka and arrived early in the clubhouse for the World Cup match between Spain and Portugal. At times, Loaisiga demonstrated the same moxie Cristiano Ronaldo showed when lining up a free kick that tied that game 3-all in the late stages.

The right-hander, who walked only four batters in 45 minor league innings this year Adidas Justin Faulk Jersey , struggled a little with his command, issuing four walks while striking out six.

He walked the first batter in the first but escaped with an inning-ending double play. After a one-out walk, he fanned the next two batters.

In the third inning, he once again benefited from a double play.

With two outs in the fourth, the Rays loaded the bases but Loaisiga – the 15th major leaguer from Nicaragua – regrouped and calmed down after a visit from pitching coach Larry Rothschild and struck out Christian Arroyo behind the support of 45,112 roaring fans at Yankee Stadium.

”I think that’s the part of the game you have to learn how to manage,” Loaisiga said.

After returning last year from Tommy John surgery, Loaisiga became the first Yankees starter to win his first career game since Tanaka on April 4, 2014.

New York manager Aaron Boone considered extending Loaisiga past the fifth inning even though he eclipsed 90 pitches for the first time in his professional career – he threw more than 80 in four minor league starts this season. Only once has Loaisiga pitched seven innings, during a Dominican Summer League start in 2013.

But Boone felt fine with the 91-pitch effort he got from the rookie, lauding his confidence.

”I think everyone got a look at the stuff that this kid has and the arm he has and the easy delivery he has,” Boone said. ”I felt like mentally, emotionally, he’s equipped to handle this.”

Pitching against his former team, Eovaldi (1-2) allowed only two runs over the first seven innings until the Yankees chased him in the eighth. He was charged with five runs and eight hits in 7 1/3 innings during his first career outing against New York. He struck out five and walked one.

It was Eovaldi’s fourth outing since coming back from a second Tommy John surgery. The right-hander pitched for the Yankees from 2015-16, going 14-3 in 2015.

With one out in the eighth, Eovaldi gave up consecutive singles to Aaron Judge and Gregorius before issuing an intentional walk to Stanton. Johnny Venters struck out Greg Bird before Sanchez’s bases-loaded line drive to right field skipped past a diving Johnny Field to make it 5-0.

Sanchez Authentic DJ Chark Jersey , who began the night with just six hits in his past 60 at-bats, hopes that will spark him going forward.

”I did feel good being that I had a long time that I wasn’t contributing to the team batting like that, bringing in runs and getting on base with hits,” he said.

LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE

The Yankees traded RHP Chad Whitmer to Milwaukee for $59,000 in international signing bonus pool money. That raises New York’s available total to $5,061,000 for the signing period that starts July 2. The 23-year-old Whitmer, a 10th-round pick in the 2017 draft, went 3-0 with a 3.79 ERA for the Gulf Coast Yankees last season in rookie ball.

SKIPPING LEVELS

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Loaisiga became the first Yankees player to make his major league debut without appearing in a Triple-A game since INF Ramiro Pena on April 6, 2009, at Boston. The last Yankees pitcher to accomplish the feat was Chase Wright on April 17, 2007, against Cleveland

UP NEXT

Yankees ace Luis Severino (9-2, 2.27 ERA) tries Saturday to improve to 6-0 at home this season. Tampa Bay is expected to open with right-handed reliever Ryne Stanek on another ”bullpen day.”

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