At the start of the week, LeBron James’ agent, Rich Paul caused a sensation by publicly imagining a trade based around Austin Reaves to strengthen the Lakers. Words from which the King wanted to distance himself by supporting his teammate.
Rich Paul is not like any other agent. For years, he has become more and more important in the NBA and particularly in the Lakers locker room. He placed many of his players in one of the most legendary franchises in the League.
This time, he went a little further by speaking publicly, in the Game Over podcast, about what he would do if he were in the place of Rob Pelinka, the General Manager of LA:
“If I were the Lakers, I would target the Memphis Grizzlies as a trade partner for Jaren Jackson Jr. If you’re building a team around Luka, you need a defensive pillar. Jaren does not want to participate in a rebuild. If you can trade expiring players and a first-round draft pick, it can work, but if you want to keep him, there’s a difficult possibility emotionally speaking because Austin (Reaves) is beloved. But it’s possible to do what’s best for the team and what’s best for Austin. Austin deserves to be paid well…Memphis would pay him in a heartbeat. He would become their best scorer and playmaker.”
“(Reaves) I love him as a Laker but if that is a situation where WE getting balance…”
– Rich Paul –
Rich is not part of LA management so why is he invoking “We” in his trade proposal of Austin?
Rich is Bron’s mouthpiece & AR should be livid. pic.twitter.com/h9xrkYOYYH
— 80’s/90’s Plumbers Rep (@MoryMagisSprts) January 13, 2026
LeBron James distanced himself from his agent’s comments by praising his teammate:
“I think you all know, Rich is his own person and what he says is not a direct reflection of me and what I think. I hope everyone is aware of this and if not I don’t know what else to say. »
“Austin (Reaves) knows what I think of him. All you have to do is watch us on the bench. AR and I talk every day. He knows what I think of him and I hope he and his team don’t think those words came from my mouth, with Rich as an intermediary. »
Austin Reaves’ agent, Reggie Berry, according to ESPN, went to see Rich Paul at Lakers-Hawks halftime to talk to him about this media outing. And the message seems to have gotten through since a few days later, again on the Game Over podcast, LeBron James’ agent calmed down his remarks a little:
“My buddy Reggie (Berry), Austin’s agent (Reaves), we talked about it…we talked about it and I told him, ‘Listen Reggie, you’re my guy. I want Austin to know that it has nothing to do with him, because I love the player, I love the person. Second, I really need his help to improve my swing. I’m not trying to harm AR’… It was just an assumption. It wasn’t going to happen. Plus, I think it’s a compliment to AR, because he’s on a team with two future Hall of Famers and he happens to be the ‘asset’. I’m not trying to harm AR! »
Rich Paul addresses his comments about trading Austin Reaves for Jaren Jackson Jr and Max Kellerman says Lakers need to trade Luka 👀
Rich: My guy Reggie who is Austin’s agent, we talked… we talked about it and Im like, look Reggie, you’re my man. I want Austin to know this is… pic.twitter.com/IDZRtNqV3D
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) January 14, 2026
The Trade Deadline will take place in a little less than a month and we will have to wait and see which camp Rob Pelinka will prove right and what the Los Angeles Lakers will look like at the end of the season.
Source texte : Game Over Podcast, ESPN
