LeBron James has moved to set the record straight over speculation he could be joining the Golden State Warriors this summer, describing the rumours as a "non-story".
James, a three-time NBA champion, spoke to reporters after a Cleveland Cavaliers practice session and said his first reaction to Wednesday's ESPN report that he would consider meeting with the Warriors was laughter.
But it was clear James, who is a free agent in the summer, didn't think the topic was, in fact, a laughing matter.
"I think it's a discredit to what I'm trying to do here," James, 33, said. "It's a discredit to my teammates and coaching staff here. My only focus right now is trying to figure out how we can become a championship-calibre team in these next few months.
"There's been so many stories about me in the last few months and 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, this is where I'm at.
"I will handle my summer situation when my summer gets here and I will not handle it right 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."
Cleveland are currently third in the NBA's Eastern Conference and are coming off a tough January that saw them finish 6-8 in the month and lose Kevin Love to a broken hand that will sideline him for up to eight weeks.
The Cavaliers have played the Warriors in the past three NBA Finals, falling in 2015 and last year and winning in 2016 to give James a third championship after he won two with the Miami Heat.
