LeBron James Discusses Cavs Not Trading for DeAndre Jordan After Clippers Loss

Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James downplayed the team's inability to acquire DeAndre Jordan before last month's NBA trade deadline after the Los Angeles Clippers center tallied 20 points and 23 rebounds in Friday night's 116-102 victory over the Cavs.

Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com passed along postgame comments James made about Jordan, who was consistently linked to the three-time defending Eastern Conference champions before the deadline.

"I don't play fantasy basketball," he said. "I knew the conversations were going on from the outside. I seen it. If it would have happened it would have gave us a boost, but it didn't happen so you move on."

Although the Cavaliers made a flurry of deals last month to reshape their roster around James following a prolonged slump dating to Christmas, Jordan wasn't among the acquisitions.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reported Cavs general manager Koby Altman had received ownership approval to deal Jae Crowder, Channing Frye, Iman Shumpert and the team's first-round pick in the 2018 draft to L.A. for Jordan. However, the Clippers didn't want Shumpert or any other bloated contract, such as Tristan Thompson's or JR Smith's, so the deal fell apart.

DeAndre Jordan rocks the rim

The 29-year-old post player has continued to shine for the Clippers. He's averaged 13.0 points, 16.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in eight games since the All-Star break.

Meanwhile, Cleveland has struggled to find another gear despite the deadline moves. It's gone 5-5 over the past 10 games, including a 2-3 homestand before embarking on its current six-game road trip.

James chose not to lament the Cavs' failure to make a big splash by trading for Jordan, but there's no doubt he could have helped fix the team's rebounding woes (25th in rebound differential). He proved his prowess on the glass once again Friday at Cleveland's expense.