CLEVELAND - LeBron James appears to have worked on his defense this summer. He’s even swatting away rumors.

Like the one about him demanding a trade to New York so he can save the Knicks and light up Broadway. Or the one where he’s bolting for Los Angeles to join the Lakers and sign a movie deal. And the piece of gossip about him leaving for Miami to hook up with Shaq and open a nightclub on South Beach.

Heck, he’s been linked to everyone but Paris Hilton.

James, though, insists none of them are true. And on Monday, while being bombarded with questions at the Cavaliers’ media day, the All-Star forward addressed his future before it was even brought up.

“For the record,” James said, slamming his hand on the table. “For the record, I am not going anywhere. I keep hearing these stories about LeBron James is not happy in Cleveland. I don’t understand where these keep coming from.

“I’m very happy in the Cavaliers’ uniform and I’m going to be wearing this uniform for a long time, OK?”

That issue temporarily out of the way, James spent the majority of his group interview session praising Cleveland’s front office for spending millions this summer on a supporting cast that should help him and the Cavaliers get to the NBA playoffs after narrowly missing them last season.

The Cavs, who collapsed down the stretch and finished 42-40 — losing a tiebreaker for the No. 8 spot to New Jersey — after leading the Central Division for a chunk of the season, signed free agent guards Larry Hughes and Damon Jones, forward Donyell Marshall and re-signed center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

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“It’s going to be unbelievable what this team can do,” James said, cracking a smile. “It’s like high school for me again. Now that I got a guy like Larry Hughes, who can break down a defense as well as I can, and a guy like Damon Jones who can shoot it from halfcourt, and a guy like Donyell Marshall, who can play the three, four or five and rebound the ball. ... It’s unbelievable what our potential can be.

“There should be no excuses for us not to get to the playoffs with the guys that we’ve added.”

While the Cavaliers were disintegrating late last season, James, who is under contract for at least three more seasons in Cleveland, showed signs of frustration as his first trip to the playoffs slipped away. He criticized teammates, and stormed off the floor in Detroit bare-chested, ripping off his jersey after a tough loss.

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Ilgauskas didn’t blame James for being upset.

“I knew that LeBron needed to get to the playoffs,” the 7-foot-3 center said. “I wanted him to get that taste. He did everything he could and we let him down.”

Ilgauskas has played with James for two seasons, long enough to appreciate the 20-year-old’s competitiveness. Although they haven’t spoken much about the future beyond this season, Ilgauskas is confident James will stay in Cleveland as long as it takes to win an NBA championship.

“From what I’ve seen, he loves being here,” Ilgauskas said. “I don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. But all of us would like to see No. 23 hanging in the rafters, and I think we’ll see that.”

Before being taken away for numerous photo shoots, James said the never-ending guessing game about where he’ll play has become annoying.

“It bothers me, of course,” he said. “I never gave any indication of leaving Cleveland. I’ve been in Akron my whole life. My family loves to come see me play 41 games. It bothers me a little bit, but I’m here. I’m wearing a Cleveland Cavaliers jersey and I’m having fun.

“I can’t predict the future. I don’t know what’s going to happen before I sign my next contract. But now my focus is on being a Cavalier.”