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Welcome to the NBA offseason, when a workout is never just a workout.

ESPN's Chris Haynes reports the Cavaliers star forward LeBron James will work out in Las Vegas this week with Derrick Rose, which isn't much news. It makes sense that James would want to start building chemistry with his newest teammate. It's the other name in the report that has people scratching their chins: Eric Bledsoe. From Haynes:

Phoenix Suns guard Eric Bledsoe, who has been linked to trade talks for disgruntled Cavs star Kyrie Irving, is also among the players working out with James in Las Vegas, sources say.

Granted, James has worked out with Bledsoe over the summer in the past, and ESPN's Brian Windhorst reports that the workout has nothing to do with the Irving situation.

That being said, let's simply lay out the facts:

  1. James is reportedly still actively recruiting for the Cavs, as he did with Rose and Jeff Green.
  2. Bledsoe's name has been brought up as a potential trade target for the Cavs should they choose to deal Irving.
  3. Bledsoe is represented by Klutch Sports, the same agency that reps James, Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith, among others.

So we're not here to speculate about whether Irving is going to be traded, but if James wanted to get a closer look at Bledsoe before potentially going to Cavs management and asking them to trade for him ... this would be a good opportunity to do that.

Cavs owner Dan Gilbert and new general manager Koby Altman both refused to go into detail about the Irving situation during a news conference Wednesday, but Gilbert did say (not so convincingly) that he expects Irving to be in camp with the Cavs this fall.

Until then, however, every move James makes and every player he contacts will be under extreme scrutiny. Thus is the nature of the NBA.