LeBron James defended his recent comments about playing with Anthony Davis by saying "I play by the rules".

When told that his comments upset several small-market general managers, James responded, "So? What'd I do? What did I do? Was it right or wrong?"

James then listed off other players he'd like to play with, starting with Kevin Durant. He added "ask me if I'd like to play with Jimmy Butler. Say it right now. Ask me about Kyrie Irving, Giannis [Antetokounmpo]. Ask me about [Joel] Embiid, Ben Simmons. Go ahead, all of them. Luka Doncic. Ask me right now. Come on, guys, this is not rocket science. These are great players...I would love to play with a lot of great players..."

James said he wasn't surprised by the attention his comments received, stating "anything I say will generate something".