CHRIS Fagan isn't backing down from comments he made earlier in the week, despite the agitation of his Adelaide counterpart Don Pyke.

Pyke was fuming on Wednesday after Fagan said the Lions would be interested in acquiring Adelaide small forward Charlie Cameron if the Queenslander expressed an interest in returning home.

And that's a big 'if', says Fagan.

"I was asked a question on radio to which I gave a hypothetical answer," Fagan said on Friday.

"If a player was interested in returning home, then of course we would talk to him.

"I think people would be better off just to have a closer listen to the answer I gave to that question rather than shooting from the hip, because it was not my intention to upset the Adelaide Crows footy club."

Fagan refused to comment on Pyke's reaction specifically, but said clubs handled trade talk well when they were the chasers, but not so well when they were the victims.

"We choose to be the chasers often, all clubs do," he said.

Pyke's ire was drawn because Cameron still has the 2018 season to run on his contract.

The Adelaide coach said it was unusual to comment on players under contract.

It was less than 12 months ago the Crows hotly pursued Carlton star Bryce Gibbs – who still had three years to run on his deal – after Gibbs made it public he wanted to return to his home state.

For many years the Lions have been the hunted, losing a stack of young players who headed home, and Fagan hopes the wheel is turning.

"Hopefully the reputation of our football club has changed," he said.

"AFL is a very competitive business and every club is trying to improve their list, and most clubs will go as hard as they can to do that, and that is what we'll do."

The Lions are still desperate to get off the bottom of the ladder, and face Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday afternoon.