PHILADELPHIA _ LeBron James understands how much fans love talking about players changing teams, but said Saturday morning that his All-Star team selections had no ulterior motive.
"That's a great conversation," James said. "Everyone kind of gets up for fantasy basketball talk. Guys that are restricted free agents, that are free agents, I don't know, player options. That's all part of the speculation that continues to drive our sport. It's all good and well and dandy, but for me I picked according to my draft board and I picked according to who was the best available."
James chose first and took the Golden State Warriors' Kevin Durant. He also selected the Boston Celtics' Kyrie Irving and the New Orleans Pelicans' Anthony Davis, along with James Harden of the Houston Rockets and Kawhi Leonard of the Toronto Raptors.
"It just so happened that I had KD who's a pending free agent, and Kyrie who's a pending free agent," James said. "James is under contract until 2030. Kawhi's a free agent."
James was reminded that Davis, who requested a trade and has been linked to the Lakers, is under contract.
"Yeah, he's under contract," James said. "Bradley Beal's under contract, Karl-Anthony Towns is under contract. Klay (Thompson) is a free agent. Who else is on my team? LaMarcus (Aldridge) is under contract. Dwyane (Wade) is jobless. And I'm under contract."
His playful dig at Wade came with a smile.
James had fun participating in the draft last week, when he and Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo, the two captains as top All-Star vote-getters, picked their teams on television, with TNT's in-studio crew commenting on their selections.
"It was fun," James said, and smiled widely. "But look forward to seeing someone else do it next year."
