LeBron James has given the NBA 23 seasons, and that is more than you can ask for on the face of the league for the past two decades. After four championships, recency bias has him as the best player of all time but is not totally convincing everyone that he is. This is something that his agent, Rich Paul, has known so well and will see to it that his prized client will come out swinging to convince you otherwise.
The production of the ‘Game Over’ podcast is just at the right time. Along with the return of Max Kellerman, the former co-host of First Take with Stephen A. Smith (whom we all know that LeBron James doesn’t like), and weeks away before the trade deadline, Rich Paul used his voice to probably power-broker another major deal in the NBA.
During the interview, one of the bushes that he ruffled is that Rich Paul feels that the Lakers are not good enough to win a championship.
“I personally don’t think the Lakers are good enough to be contenders, not right now,” Paul said. “I don’t think they have enough to get to the Western Conference Finals. I don’t think they have enough to contend from that perspective right now.”
Diving deeper, Rich Paul would not just do a podcast for the heck of just speaking out and enjoying the moment. Look further, like in chess, where a player predicts the next four to five moves; LeBron James’ agent is doing the same thing. But what for?
After the Luka Doncic trade, it proved that NBA agents are powerless to billionaire owners who want to make a move if they intend to. As one of the biggest agents in the league, Rich Paul knows that if he use people’s collective opinions, he will get the empathy, and the owners, along with their hired management, will be cautious to make hasty decisions.
Moreover, Paul also emphasized that LeBron James will be finishing the season with the Lakers, probably pre-empting an attempt by the organization to ask him to waive the ‘no-trade’ clause in the four-time NBA MVP’s contract.
Assured that LeBron James will be staying in the league’s most prestigious franchise, this also forces Lakers GM Rob Pelinka to do some moves because Father Time is slowly creeping up on the 21-time NBA All-Star.
What moves does Rich Paul want? Of course he wants the Lakers to be better. But the organization is also taking care of their assets that would help surround Luka Doncic when LeBron James finally decides to give up the sport.
With not many moves to make and the league is in the apron era, Paul just wants to do whatever it takes for LeBron James to finally get another championship with the Lakers but clearly doesn’t care what it will cost the team, even if they mortgage their future assets.
