Photo: Peter Baba

Delonte West says LeBron James personally recruited him to join the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2007-08 season, revealing that the future teammates first discussed a potential move during a game between Cleveland and the Seattle SuperSonics.

West recalled the conversation while describing how LeBron approached him during the game after watching his college career and recognizing his ability.

“We were playing Cleveland, out in Seattle, the first month of the season, and I was cooking them. I remember we were sitting at the foul line, and LeBron James, he was like, man, I followed you in college. You remember that time I came to Philly at the Palestra to watch you play? And I was like, yeah, I remember,” West said.

“He was like, man, you want to come play with Cleveland? I thought he was just doing a veteran trick… I thought he was just trying to get me out of my game by getting familiarity. But he was serious. He asked me to come play with Cleveland.”

At the time of the conversation, West was in his fourth NBA season and playing for Seattle after spending his first three seasons with the Boston Celtics.

West had established himself as a productive two-way guard in Boston. He averaged 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 71 games during the 2005-06 season, then followed that with 12.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 4.4 assists in 69 games in 2006-07.

The 2007-08 season ultimately became a turning point in West’s career. He played 35 games for Seattle before joining Cleveland, averaging 6.8 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 20.8 minutes per game with the SuperSonics.

After the trade, West immediately moved into a significant role alongside LeBron. He started all 26 games he played for the Cavaliers that season, averaging 10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 31.0 minutes per game while shooting 44.0% from the field and 36.7% from three-point range.

West remained with Cleveland for the next two seasons, starting all 64 games he played in 2008-09. He averaged 11.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists that season while shooting a career-best 39.9% from three-point range.

His final season with the Cavaliers came in 2009-10, when he averaged 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 60 games.

West’s Cleveland tenure coincided with one of the most productive stretches of LeBron’s first stint with the franchise. The Cavaliers reached the playoffs in both seasons after West joined the team, including a run to the 2009 Eastern Conference Finals.

Across eight NBA seasons with Boston, Seattle, Cleveland, the Celtics again and Dallas, West played 432 games and averaged 9.7 points, 2.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists while shooting 44.8% from the field and 37.2% from three-point range.