Paul Coro

When headlines state that the Suns are pursuing James and Anthony, it is not Mike James and Joel Anthony.

Think bigger. The Suns are.

Free-agency negotiations tip off at 9 Monday night and the Suns have a bold plan to lure LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony or Chris Bosh to Phoenix.

It might be nearly as far-fetched of a dream as it sounds, but the Suns are positioned with the cap space and maneuverability to chase James and the co-star of his liking without yielding Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe, James' close friend, in the process. That second star pursuit could be USA Basketball buddy Anthony or fellow Miami free agent Chris Bosh in free agency or USA Basketball teammate Kevin Love down the line in a trade or 2015 free agency.

The popular theory is that James, Bosh and Dwyane Wade will return to Miamidespite opting out of their contracts. Miami, Houston and the LosAngeles Lakers also are seeking or considering a James-Anthony pairing, but the Suns' selling point would be that they do not have to lose players like Dragic, Bledsoe, Markieff Morris, Miles Plumlee and Archie Goodwin to make it happen.

The Suns' leadership of Managing Partner Robert Sarver, President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby and General Manager Ryan McDonough want to make a pitch to James to join a 48-34 team on a maximum-level contract with the possible maneuverability to also give another player a second maximum deal, assuming the Suns surrendered other players to create more cap room.

The Suns would need to renounce rights to unrestricted free agent Channing Frye (he has a $9.6 million cap hold) and trade away other salaries (possibly Alex Len's rookie contract, expiring contracts for Marcus Morris and Gerald Green or first-round pick Tyler Ennis, who has Toronto's interest) to get in such a position for James, Anthony and Bosh, who are unrestricted free agents.

The Suns will not linger with the idea long if the interest is not reciprocated by James and his agent, Rich Paul, who is also Bledsoe's agent and is expected to handle free-agency meetings instead of James. The Suns have the cap space to pursue other significant veterans. They have considered small forward Luol Deng and power forward Pau Gasol, who are unrestricted free agents, but the Suns might opt to continue their organic growth if they are unable to make the big splash.

The Deseret News of Salt Lake City reported that the Suns are prepared to make an offer, although it would not be a maximum-level deal, to Utah swingman Gordon Hayward, another USA Basketball program member who Suns coach Jeff Hornacek tutored while a Jazz assistant coach. Utah would likely match any offer to retain Hayward, a restricted free agent.

The Suns have their own three free agents who McDonough said the Suns have prioritized re-signing. Frye and the Suns will explore a contract, but he has interest from at least Cleveland and Golden State, the latter of which has former Suns President Rick Welts, former Suns coach Alvin Gentry and former Suns General Manager Steve Kerr. Frye likely has firm interest to prompt his decision to decline a $6.8 million salary for 2014-15.

The Suns would be in a bidding battle for Frye but can match any offer sheet that Bledsoe and P.J.Tucker sign with another team because they are restricted free agents. In sequencing free-agency signings, the Suns could also go over the salary cap to sign Bledsoe and Tucker after using their cap space on other players. They hope to negotiate deals with Bledsoe and Tucker before they sign an offer sheet elsewhere.

Free agents are unable to sign a contract or offer sheet until July 10.

The Suns' plan to pursue James was reported by azcentral sports in April. Besides their team and cap situation, the Suns also believe they have a chance at James because of his close relationship with Bledsoe, who became a little brother to James while still at Kentucky in 2009-10.

The Suns also have a tie-in with Anthony, who has known Suns assistant general manager and fellow Baltimore native Pat Connelly since he was a kid.

If their dream scenario played out for James and Anthony or Bosh, the Suns still could add free agents such as Mike Miller, who James missed in Miami last season, or Kirk Hinrich.

Sarver's ownership began with a similar dalliance in 2004. The Suns were set to pursue Kobe Bryant with their cap space but shifted focus to Steve Nash by the start of free-agency recruitment when they realized landing Bryant was unrealistic. At the least, the Suns could put themselves in a position to take advantage of any move by those free-agency stars as a third party.