MELBOURNE has emphatically put to bed "crazy" speculation linking livewire forward Kysaiah Pickett with a move to Port Adelaide.
Former Power star Travis Boak fanned the flames, declaring his former club in the mix to land Pickett during the Continental Tyres AFL Trade Period.
But the Demons are adamant Pickett, who has played 62 games for the club and starred in last year's premiership, is not going anywhere.
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"Any talk about Kozzy leaving is absolutely ludicrous," Melbourne list manager Tim Lamb told reporters.
"We love Kozzy, Kozzy loves us. There's been no discussion about that.
"All Kozzy talks about is how much he loves this footy club, so we're a bit baffled about all that stuff.
"(Port Adelaide football manager) Chris Davies answered it really well last week that it's never even been in consideration. It's just crazy talk."
Lamb said it would be a "very, very short conversation" if Port Adelaide did inquire about Pickett.
But quizzed by reporters when the annual trade period kicked off on Monday, Davies did not completely rule out making the call.
"We've got a great interest in players ... especially when they're of talent like Kozzy," he said.
"But fair to say, if Melbourne don't want to him to go, he's contracted, he's going to stay there."
Melbourne is set to lose Pickett's premiership teammate Luke Jackson to WA, with Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy likely to arrive as his replacement.
Magpies list manager Graham Wright said negotiations are "a fair way down the track" with Melbourne, as his club looks to offload Grundy's heavy contract.
The two-time All-Australian signed a seven-year deal with Collingwood ahead of the 2020 season.
Melbourne sees Grundy slotting into a ruck-forward partnership with Max Gawn and have no concerns over his fitness after he missed the majority of this year with knee and ankle injuries.
"The two rucks is something that we've utilised over the last few years and we're really keen to continue that," Lamb said.
"We think that Brodie and Max can form a really outstanding partnership for us moving forward."
