Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has distanced himself from some recent comments made by his agent and Klutch Sports Group CEO Rich Paul. Paul has made himself a rather unpopular figure in Los Angeles by suggesting that the Lakers trade Austin Reaves for Memphis Grizzlies big man Jaren Jackson Jr. on his Game Over podcast.
An agent making such a suggestion about his client’s teammate was never going to go down well, and Paul has had a fair bit of backlash come his way. That inevitably led to James being asked about the comments by ESPN after the Lakers’ 141-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks at Crypto.com Arena on Tuesday.
“I think you all know by now, Rich is his own man and what Rich says is not a direct reflection of me and how I feel,” James said. “And I hope people know that. I hope people know that, and if they’re not sensible to know that, then I don’t know what to tell them.”
Not only is Paul James’ longtime agent, but they’ve also been close friends for over two decades. Whenever a player’s family member or a close associate speaks, it’s always assumed it’s coming from them, fair or not. James made it clear that the trade suggestion didn’t come from him and added that he has no say whatsoever on the topics discussed on the podcast.
“Rich, that’s what he’s doing,” James stated. “That’s his whole thing. That’s what he’s doing. That’s what he’s talking about, but I have zero conversations about what his topics are going to be or what they are going to talk about. He is his own man, and that is his platform.”
Reaves, who is currently sidelined by a grade 2 left calf strain, hasn’t said anything since Paul made those comments, but James declared that all is well between him and his teammate.
“AR knows how I feel about him,” James said. “All you got to do is look at us on the bench. Me and AR talk every single day. So, AR knows how I feel about him, and I hope AR — or his camp — don’t look at me and think this is words from me are coming through Rich.
“Rich has his perspective of what he sees, I have my perspective,” James added. “I’m a grown man, he’s a grown man, and I think people should realize that grown men can say whatever the f— they want to say and it shouldn’t reflect somebody else is saying it.”
As for what Reaves’ camp thinks about Paul’s comments, it would appear they have shared their thoughts with him. Reggie Berry, one of his agents, reportedly had a conversation with Paul at halftime of this Lakers-Hawks game.
“One of Reaves’ agents, Reggie Berry of AMR Agency, approached Paul on the sideline near half court at halftime of the Lakers-Hawks game Tuesday. The two spoke for more than five minutes, and the topic of conversation was Paul’s public trade scenario regarding Reaves, sources told ESPN.”
It’s no surprise that one of Reaves’ agents felt the need to talk about this. We don’t know what the conversation went like, but perhaps Paul will share some details on the next episode of his podcast.
As for James, he had 31 points (12-20 FG), nine rebounds, 10 assists, one steal, and one block against the Hawks. The 41-year-old helped the Lakers improve to 24-14, and they take on the Charlotte Hornets next at Crypto.com Arena on Thursday at 10:30 PM ET.
