National Basketball Association

Cavaliers SG Dion Waiters denies he has asked for trade

Published Dec. 17, 2013 12:00 a.m. ET

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Cavaliers guard Dion Waiters, the subject of trade rumors for several weeks, said Tuesday he has not asked the team to deal him.

Speaking before Cleveland's game against Portland, Waiters said he's happy and comfortable and was surprised by an Internet report that he had requested a trade.

''Why would I do that?'' Waiters said. ''It doesn't make sense. This is the team that drafted me. People come up with their own things, man. I know what I said and what I didn't say. That's one of the things I absolutely never said.''

The trade talk involving the second-year guard began last month when reports surfaced Waiters was involved in a confrontation with teammates following a 29-point loss in Minnesota.

Waiters denied those rumors after they came out and said he was taking a nap Tuesday when he learned of the latest trade talk that said he wanted to be traded to Philadelphia, his hometown.

''I was asleep,'' he said. ''I don't know what's going on. My phone's blowing up. The way my phone was going crazy, I thought I got traded.''

Waiters, the No. 4 pick in the 2012 draft, is Cleveland's second-leading scorer, averaging 14.4 points. He's been coming off the bench since mid-November as coach Mike Brown searched for the right combinations after the Cavaliers got off to a 4-12 start. Cleveland has won five of seven.

''As long as we're winning, nothing else matters,'' Waiters said.

Waiters bruised a knee in Monday's practice, but entered Tuesday's game in the first quarter.

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