An Athlete's Guide to Recruiting Other Athletes

Free agency is always a whirlwind in sports. Superstars are surveying their options, possibly looking to change teams and almost always making piles of cash.

One of the more entertaining aspects of free agency—and really, sports in general—tends to be the athlete-to-athlete recruitment process.

Some folks try the social media approach. Others attend sit-down meetings in the Hamptons. There have been a lot of creative and bold approaches out there, enough to form a quick set of guidelines.

Athletes, listen up.

Social Media

Social media has not appeared to be the best approach, but if you're going to go that route, keep the following in mind. 

Asking point-blank on Twitter may seem like a solid tactic, but then again, look where it got Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers:

His attempts to lure LeBron James to Philly in 2014 were not only unsuccessful, but they also didn't even elicit a response:

Then again, at least Embiid was direct. That's more than can be said for Oakland Raiders linebacker Bruce Irvin when former Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman hit free agency:

Was he trying to recruit him, was he not? Vagueness is not ideal in recruiting.

Similarly, if you're going to go the social media route, be sure of yourself. Boston Celtics guard Isaiah Thomas got involved in the Kevin Durant lottery, but he was fairly quick about deleting his recruitment tweet:

In fairness to Thomas, however, his persistence might have paid off with at least one big free-agent signing.

Former Atlanta Hawks big man Al Horford—who Thomas had reportedly been in contact with—signed with the Celtics in July for four years and $113 million. According to Horford, Durant "definitely considered" joining as well before ultimately choosing to go with the Golden State Warriors, per Zack Cox of NESN:

Things That Might Actually Work

Moving away from the Twittersphere—because frankly, that's not generally going to work (if ever)—let's look at some legitimate tactics. First up, use the old teammate angle when possible.

In 2014, Tampa Bay Lightning right winger Ryan Callahan was instrumental in recruiting free agents Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle to the team. Callahan was a teammate of both with the New York Rangers, and Stralman and Boyle each confirmed his role in their recruitment, per Dan Rosen of NHL.com:

Leverage those connections, people!

You know what else might actually really work? Attending team-sanctioned meetings and events (while simultaneously being a big deal).

Reports out of the Hamptons during Durant's free agency meetings were that Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Andre Iguodala were all present for the Warriors' meeting with the former Oklahoma City Thunder forward.

Durant said of Iguodala in particular, "Andre was huge. He spilled it out. He said that it would be the most fun you’ll have in your life, and the guys all love to play basketball, they love each other, they love the environment, and he was just real, man, and I believed him. He was genuine," per Tim Kawakami of The Mercury News.

(Take note, authenticity helps.)

Switching sports but not points, the New York Mets smartly used their star power to land free-agent utility man Michael Cuddyer (now retired) in 2014. Mets captain David Wright happened to be a longtime friend of Cuddyer's, and according to Mike Vorkunov of NJ.com, he helped put on the "full-court press."

Kathy Willens/Associated Press

A Couple Don'ts

In terms of don'ts, maybe, don't play for a rival team? In March, ESPN's Rob Demovsky reported Green Bay Packers linebacker Julius Peppers reportedly tried to recruit former Chicago Bears running back Matt Forte:

Forte eventually signed with the New York Jets.

And, probably don't waste time on a lost cause. Per SI.com, Kobe Bryant once tried to recruit Dallas Mavericks center Dirk Nowitzki to the Los Angeles Lakers even though he knew the big man would never leave Dallas:

Then again, can't blame the Mamba for trying!

Talk About All the RINGZ

There are really only two tried and true tactics: First up, be LeBron James.  

The Cleveland Cavaliers forward is one of the best players in basketball, a proven winner, and he doesn't need much more than that. For instance, when James returned to Cleveland in 2014, he made his goals of winning a championship very clear.

Regarding Kevin Love (then with the Minnesota Timberwolves), Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc J. Spears, of Yahoo Sports reported James reached out directly and "expressed a desire for them to play together in Cleveland." Love was later traded to the Cavs, and look how that ended up:

And, in the event you are not LeBron James, try the second battle-tested option: Be a champion:

Being part of a championship team is um, not going to hurt your recruitment chances. Warriors forward Draymond Green told Alex Kennedy of SI.com what the team conveyed to Durant: "And it's not about 'I' with us on this team. It's all about 'we' and winning championships."

Well, there you have it. When it comes to recruiting superstars, try to be a world-class champion athlete. And if not, you can always try social media: