LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers think it’s “trash” we’re even talking about a trade for Carmelo Anthony that includes Kevin Love.
James did not mince words after a report surfaced on Monday that LeBron was pushing Cavaliers management to trade for Anthony even if it meant sending Love to the New York Knicks.
James denied the report in harsh terms, calling out New York Daily News reporter Frank Isola, who wrote the story containing the rumor. LeBron didn’t even let a reporter in Washington finish the question about the Anthony trade report, cutting him off and clearing the air right away.
jeffeisenband: LeBron on trash rumor TNT NBA Basketball: Spurs at Grizzlies https://t.co/un4lDGal5a pic.twitter.com/RVdxNcwk1v
— FanSportsClips (@FanSportsClips) February 7, 2017
I saw it. I saw it and heard about it. It’s trash. And the guy who wrote it is trash, too. For writing that. Especially during the game like that.
James then reiterated that he’s not in charge of making decisions like that, deferring to the general manager who, by definition, is.
That’s just outside noise for us. We gotta focus on what needs to be done in order for us to continue to compete for a championship and we got who we got. Our GM will do a great job of figuring out if we need something else but right now we’re in a good place.
Love himself addressed the reports after the Cavaliers win against the Washington Wizards, calling it a “lie” and tossing in a pretty funny Mark Twain quote to boot.
KLove on the rumor: "It's a lie. What do they say? A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put his pants on"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 7, 2017
He doubled down after the game by posting the same quote to his Instagram, though he misattributed it to Winston Churchill. The lies surround all of us. There is no escape.
For what it’s worth Cavs coach Tyronn Lue was having none of the rumor, either.
Ty Lue on the trade rumors: "Kevin (Love) should be happy that teams want him, but he's not going anywhere"
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) February 7, 2017
The Cavs are definitely hoping to add another piece before the deadline, but James and Co. did get back on track with an entertaining overtime win on Monday night. James set a career-high in assists and sank a miracle shot to send Monday’s Cavs/Wizards game to overtime on a banked 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left in regulation.
After all that, telling the media about some fake news was easy.
