NBA notebook: LeBron James agrees to two-year contract with Cleveland

There was no need for a heartfelt letter this summer. LeBron James isn’t going anywhere.

This decision was easy.

Just shy of the one-year anniversary of his celebrated homecoming, James agreed to terms on a two-year, $47 million contract, two people familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press on Thursday.

The deal includes a $24 million player option for 2016-17, said the people who spoke on condition of anonymity because James has not signed the contract.

That will be done soon enough as the four-time MVP has a busy schedule over the next few weeks to promote a new comedy film in which he portrays himself.

James is hosting a VIP screening for family and friends today in Akron, where he’ll walk the red carpet with the other stars of “Trainwreck,” an R-rated movie he filmed last summer shortly after announcing he was returning to the Cavs.

James ended any suspense or speculation about his future with Cleveland by saying several times during the past season that he intends to end his career with the Cavs.

This is the first time since 2006 that James will re-sign with a team. On two previous occasions as a free agent he left for another team, signing with Miami in 2010 and Cleveland in 2014.

It had been expected that James would wait to see if forward Tristan Thompson, who is also represented by his agent, Rich Paul, would sign before he negotiated with the Cavs.

But on the first day teams could officially sign players, James made his intentions known to the Cavs, who in one season went from a lottery team to Eastern Conference champions with James.

Thursday was the first day teams were allowed make official any deals and trades that were agree to since free agency opened on July 1.

A sampling of those deals:

• The Los Angeles Lakers acquired two-time All-Star center Roy Hibbert from the Indiana Pacers in exchange for a future second-round draft pick.

The Pacers dumped their 7-foot-2 big man and his $15.5 million salary for the upcoming season after Hibbert spent the past seven years with Indiana, averaging 11.1 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots.

• Goran Dragic signed his five-year deal with the Miami Heat.

Financial terms were not immediately released, though The AP was told by a person involved with the negotiations when the deal was preliminarily struck last week that the total value of the contract would be around $86 million.

Keeping Dragic was a major priority for the Heat this summer, especially since they included two future first-round picks in the deal that brought the point guard to Miami from the Phoenix Suns in February.

He averaged 16.6 points in 26 games with the Heat this season. For his career, he’s averaged 12.2 points in 502 games.

• Gerald Green agreed to a one-year, $1.4 million deal to join the Heat. Green spent the past two seasons in Phoenix.

• The San Antonio Spurs announced the addition of forward LaMarcus Aldridge.

The 6-11 Aldridge spent his first nine NBA seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers. Last year, he averaged a career-high 23.4 points per game along with 10.2 rebounds and 1.7 assists.

• Kevin Garnett will get paid $8 million per season over the two-year contract he has agreed to with the Minnesota Timberwolves, a person with knowledge of the agreement told The Associated Press.

• Tyson Chandler is coming to Phoenix, aiming to toughen up the Suns’ interior and be the experienced leader the young team sorely needs.

The Phoenix Suns signed 32-year-old Tyson Chandler, a 14-year NBA veteran, to a four-year, $52 million contract. Last season, Chandler averaged 10.3 points on 67 percent shooting and 11.5 rebounds for New York and Dallas.

• The Suns made it official, confirming the trade of forward Marcus Morris, guard Reggie Bullock and forward-guard Danny Granger to the Detroit Pistons.

The move, reported by The AP and other outlets last week, was a salary dump as the Suns made a strong but ultimately unsuccessful push to sign coveted free agent LaMarcus Aldridge.

• The Atlanta Hawks officially re-signed All-Star Paul Millsap and finalized a trade for reserve center-forward Tiago Splitter.

Millsap, a two-time Eastern Conference All-Star, was an unrestricted free agent before agreeing last week to a three-year, $58.9 million deal contract.

The Hawks acquired Splitter last week after sending the draft rights to Georgios Printezis and a future second-round pick to San Antonio.