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Dave McMenamin
LOS ANGELES — LeBron James cleared the air following the Lakers‘ 141-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, separating himself from the opinion of his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, who said that L.A. should trade fan favorite Austin Reaves.
«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 told ESPN on his way out of Crypto.com Arena. «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.»
Paul, on a recent episode of his podcast «Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul,» said the Lakers should swap Reaves to the Memphis Grizzlies for two-time All-Star big man Jaren Jackson Jr.
«If you’re building around Luka [Doncic] going forward, which they are, you need that anchor,» Paul said. «And Jaren doesn’t want to be a part of a rebuild.»
Paul presented a scenario in which the Lakers would offer expiring contracts and either their 2031 or 2032 first-round pick to target Jackson and 6-foot-9 Memphis forward GG Jackson as a developmental project. And then he presented the scenario in which L.A. would trade Reaves as the centerpiece of the offer, before they would have to decide on offering him a five-year, $241 million max contract extension this summer.
«This comes with a very unemotional attachment because Austin is beloved, which he should be, he’s an underdog,» Paul said. «There’s a world where you can do what’s best for your team, and do what’s best for Austin. Because Austin deserves to get paid. Now, I love him as a Laker, but if that was a situation where we’re getting balance — because if you put all the money into just the backcourt and then your flexibility is restricted going forward to fill out the rest of the team, then [building a full roster is challenging].»
Paul said Jaren Jackson Jr. would give a 26-year-old center for the 26-year-old Doncic to pair with and set Reaves up for success with his own team, too.
«Memphis would definitely pay Austin,» Paul said. «He would become … probably their point guard and leading scorer, for sure. … But definitely their highest-paid player.»
James told ESPN he did not consult with his longtime friend Paul about his decision to enter the media space and host the podcast before it launched last month.
«AR knows how I feel about him. 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.»
LeBron James
«Rich, that’s what he’s doing,» James told ESPN. «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.»
One of Reaves’ agents, Reggie Berry of AMR Agency, approached Paul on the sideline near half court at halftime of the Lakers-Hawks game. The two of them spoke for more than five minutes and the topic of conversation was Paul’s public trade scenario about Reaves, sources told ESPN.
James said there was no fallout between him and Reaves, who is his longest-tenured teammate on the Lakers, after the podcast episode.
«AR knows how I feel about him,» James told ESPN. «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. 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.»
It is not the first controversial take Paul has shared about the Lakers this season. In December, around the time L.A. lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, Paul said on the podcast that the Lakers were «not championship contenders.»
James responded by saying, «I can’t think about what we can do in the playoffs in December. … Talking about what type of damage we can do in the postseason in December, that’s not right for the basketball gods.»
Though some interpreted that take by Paul as using the podcast as a call to urgency to put public pressure on the Lakers’ front office to make moves and ultimately serve his marquee client in James, he has shared other opinions on the podcast that seemingly remove his agent association with a player from his view point. For instance, he said that the Milwaukee Bucks should insist on getting back Jalen Johnson in any trade discussions with Atlanta about Giannis Antetokounmpo — but acknowledged Johnson, his client, wouldn’t want that.
Paul also shared that he would rather have Michael Jordan take the last shot in a game over James.
Before James spoke about Paul’s podcast, he played one of his finest games of the season. He scored 31 points on 12-for-20 shooting with 10 assists and 9 rebounds, and played on the second night of a back-to-back for the first time all season after sitting out the first month of the Lakers’ campaign because of sciatica affecting his lower back and down his right leg.
Lakers coach JJ Redick went out of his way to defend the 41-year-old James in his postgame remarks.
«I don’t take for granted the LeBron stuff,» Redick said. «It’s actually unfortunate how much this guy puts into it and how much he cares and the way certain people talk about him. It’s crazy. Come be around him every day and see how much this guy cares. It’s off the charts.»
Not long after, James defended Paul’s podcast venture.
«It’s his prerogative,» James told ESPN.
