LeBron James Calls Kevin Love-for-Carmelo Anthony Trade Rumor 'Trash'
Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love is the subject of a trade rumor once again, and LeBron James is not happy about it.
Frank Isola of the New York Daily News reported Monday that James wants forward Carmelo Anthony on the Cavaliers, even if it means dealing Love to the Knicks.
James denied the rumor in no uncertain terms after his team's 140-135 overtime win over the Washington Wizards, per NBA on TNT:
"LeBron responds to the recent K Love/Melo trade rumors... pic.twitter.com/zmLTovOpxN
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 7, 2017"
"It's trash, and the guy who wrote it is trash, too, for writing that, especially during the game like that," James said of the report. "It's always about outside noise, and that's just outside noise for us. We got to focus on what needs to be done in order for us to continue to compete for a championship, and we got who we got."
Isola replied to James' comments on his reports Tuesday, via his Twitter account:
Love finished Monday's game with 39 points on 11-of-17 shooting along with 12 rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Head coach Tyronn Lue also shut down the rumor, per Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today:
"It's a lie," Love said, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. "What do they say? A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put his pants on."
James has not been shy about asking for roster help this season, calling out the front office at the end of January during a stretch of six losses in eight games. However, the team appears to be back on track with three straight victories while winning five of its last six.
At 35-15, the Cavaliers have a 2.5-game lead over the Boston Celtics for first place in the Eastern Conference.
For the defending champions, however, all that matters is contending for another title. It seems as though Love will stay, but it remains to be seen whom Cleveland can acquire before the Feb. 23 trade deadline.
