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A report from a couple of nights ago saying that Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James could sign with the Golden State Warriors this upcoming offseason shook the NBA to its core. The idea that the best player of his generation would join forces with what already seems like an unstoppable machine could end the idea of competition as we know it.

On Friday, however, James dismissed the report, calling it "nonsense" and "a non-story."

"The first thing I did I started laughing, actually. And then I thought about it I think it's doing, it's nonsense, and it's a non-story," James said. "I think it's a discredit to what I'm trying to do here. It's a discredit to my teammates and the coaching staff here. My only focus right now is trying to figure out how we can become a championship-caliber team in these next few months. It's been so many stories about me in the last few months, in the last few days, about where I'm going and where I'm at and what place I'm in. I'm here, I'm right here, I'm right now and this is my present and this is where I'm at.

"If you don't hear something come from my voice, then it's not true. I don't give a damn how close they are, I don't care if it's my kids, or my wife or whatever. If it's not from me, it's not true.

"I think it's just a discredit to my teammates because I'm the leader of these guys and for them to have to hear that stuff every single day about my free agency, I apologize to them," James said. "I will handle my summer situation when my summer gets here, and I will not handle it now. You guys know, in my 15-year career I've been a free agent twice so far, or three times, and I've always handled it at the right, appropriate time and that's at the end of the season, when it's time appropriate. And I've never let anything on the outside get in the way of what I'm trying to accomplish.

"... The Golden State conversation is a non-story, all the other conversations is a non-story. My focus right now is on this team and trying to figure out how we can get back to a fourth NBA Finals and compete for a championship."

LeBron later said that all 30 NBA teams would likely want to sit down with him if he chooses to opt out of his contract and become a free agent after this season, so he doesn't think a report saying that he could meet with the Warriors should be newsworthy.

"I know how it works. I know exactly how it works. There's 30 teams right now that at the end of the day probably want to sit down with me at the end of the season, right? Correct. It's so easy to make a story out of that," James said. "I mean I could write a story today and say, 'OK, well Sacramento is trying to, would love to pitch LeBron. But the fact when it comes that LeBron is willing to sit down, I saw that part? LeBron never said that and I don't like even saying that it feels like … I ain't never said that. I never said I would sit down with Golden State or sit down with anybody. I've never talked about any other team throughout my journey.

"But what I will not allow is for people to kind of use my name -- as we already know they do -- for something that is a non-story. The Golden state thing is a non-story."

LeBron spoke at length about the issue, and reiterated several times that he's only focused on this season and isn't thinking at all about his potential free agency. That may be the case, but unless he commits to the Cavs, it's not a storyline that people are going to stop talking about any time soon.