LeBron James calls report regarding his pushing for a Love-Melo trade 'trash'
The King is not holding back about his disdain for a report on what would be a blockbuster
By
Matt Moore
•
2 min read
LeBron James fired back with furious intent Monday night after a report from the New York Daily News suggested he was pushing the Cavaliers to trade Kevin Love for his good friend Carmelo Anthony. The Cavs were quick to refute the story, but James took it a step further after the Cavaliers' 140-135 victory over the Wizards, calling the report, and the reporter, "trash."
"I saw it and heard about it, it's trash, and the guy who wrote it is trash too, for writing that," James said. "Especially during a game like that. It's always about outside noise, and that's just outside noise for us. We gotta focus on what needs to be done in order to compete for a championship."
"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."
James and Anthony have been close since before the 2003 draft when they were both selected in the top five. They are both members of "The Banana Boat Crew" along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Paul, and playing with one another is something they've often talked about. However, James is also fiercely loyal to his teammates. His teams have provided a surrogate family for him since he was a young boy, and he values those relationships.
Love helped him win Cleveland its first title; without Love's performance in the Eastern Conference playoffs, they may not get to the Finals, and Love's scrappy defense in Game 7 vs. the Warriors helped secure the epic comeback after being down 3-1. Furthermore, from an objective standpoint, James knows that the Cavaliers are at their best this season with Love on the floor. He's rebounding like he did back in Minnesota, and knocking down 3's. Against the Wizards Monday, Love led the Cavs with 39 points on 11-of-17 shooting and 12 rebounds in a victory.
James is smart enough to know what Love brings to the table.
However, questions persist about the Cavs' level of interest. They've tried to squash the idea of trading Love for Anthony several times, but it keeps popping up, whether it's from New York sources or not. This has always been the frustration with James. If the report is accurate, he's never going to admit it and he has a right to be livid at his trust being compromised. If it's not accurate, then someone is openly trying to drive a wedge between James and the man that James visited in the summer of 2015 to convince him to re-sign with the Cavaliers. There's a trust built between Love and James, even after times where the fit was awkward and uncomfortable.
It should be noted that the Knicks have incentive to create such a drama, as it would help propel Anthony out of town, recalibrating expectations and allowing Phil Jackson to theoretically mold the kind of team he believes can be successful, which the Knicks, most definitely, are not.
