LeBron James Addresses 'Nonsense' Rumors Linking Him to Warriors

LeBron James dismissed rumors linking him to signing with the Warriors this offseason.

LeBron James has dismissed the "report" that said he could sign with the Warriors during this upcoming offseason.

The four-time MVP issued a strong denial while requesting that nobody ask him for the rest of the season about which team he'll join after this year in a lengthy response he gave to reporters.

"The first thing I did I started laughing, actually," James said. "And then I thought about it, I think it's doing [a disservice], it's nonsense, and it's a non-story.

"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 coming from my voice, then it's not true."

He continued to elaborate on that point about not believing the countless rumors surrounding him at the moment, even if you (somehow) heard something from his family.

"I don't give a damn how close they are [as a source], I don't care if it's my kids, or my wife or whatever," he said. "If it's not from me, it's not true, so. Not even like upset right now about it. 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. I will handle my summer situation when my summer gets here, and I will not handle it now."

This summer, James can opt out of the final year of his deal, making him a free agent for the fifth time in his career. Despite the chaotic coverage that apparently necessitates, James said he's going to handle it the same way he always has: when the season ends.

"I've always handled (free agency) at the right, appropriate time and that's at the end of the season," LeBron added. "And I've never let anything on the outside get in the way of what I'm trying to accomplish. So, I know the sound bite will be broken up and cut and however you guys want to cut it up, but 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.

Though he just said not to believe anything that doesn't come from him, according to ESPN, James has expressed his admiration for the Warriors behind the scenes, but won't join them due to the massive hit it would surely do to his reputation/legacy.

You can check out his response below:

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Doesn't get much stronger than that.

He went on to say that the thing that irritates him most about these types of speculative reports is that people then use hypotheticals to tarnish his image.

"The only thing that bothers me is that people get to go on talk shows and discredit what I'm doing, saying, 'Well, if he does this then this is the worst thing,' 'If he's engaging in that then it tarnishes his legacy.' Like, that's what bothers me because I have no control over that," he said. "I'm not even involved in that so what I can control is how I prepare myself everyday with this group of guys, what I cannot control is these stories that come out. 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."

Finally, he added that he waited until Friday to address it with reporters in person (rather than doing so via social media on Thursday) to show how sincere he is.

"I wanted to see you all face to face so I let you all know how sincere I am instead of getting on Twitter or getting on Instagram, then you know how real this is right now," he explained. "Like, this is my focus. Nothing else is stopping me from trying to get this team back to the Finals."

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