Johnson To Nets: Ignore Carmelo Trade Rumors

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — With rumors swirling that half his team was going to be traded in a megadeal for Denver Nuggets three-time All Star Carmelo Anthony, New Jersey Nets coach Avery Johnson simply told his players to ignore the speculation — for now.

Johnson had a long talk with his team before practice Monday and reminded them that there have been trade talks involving the Nets since training camp.

"They responded well. I had a good long talk with them before practice. We pretty much have been hearing rumors since I took over," Johnson said.

"It's a different guy every day," he added. "Every time, we're supposedly getting close to something. I told them until we call them up and tell them something happened, we got to get better. We weren't very good our last two games."

He told them to treat the latest rumors as just that. If something happens, he said he will be the first to let them know.

"I just told them if there are any updates on anything I need to share with them, I promised them they'll get a phone call from me," said Johnson. "But I can't call them every day."

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.