Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James distanced himself from recent comments made by his agent, Rich Paul, pertaining to a possible trade involving teammate 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’s Dave McMenamin. “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.”
Rich Paul Floated Lakers-Grizzlies Trade
During a recent episode of Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul, James’ agent suggested the Lakers should trade Reaves for Memphis Grizzlies star 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 trade deal in which the Lakers would offer expiring contracts and either their 2031 or 2032 first-round pick to target Jackson and Memphis forward GG Jackson as a developmental project.
Rich Paul says if he ran the Lakers, he would call Memphis Grizzlies to trade for Jaren Jackson Jr for a package with Austin Reaves 😳
“If I was the Lakers I would be targeting the Memphis Grizzlies as a trade partner for Jaren Jackson… If you’re building around Luka you need… pic.twitter.com/vEj647cWfT
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) January 12, 2026
For the outgoing package, Paul said L.A. would trade Reaves as the centerpiece of the offer, before the team 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].”
Austin Reaves’ Agent Approached Paul
According to McMenamin, James told ESPN he “did not consult” with Paul about the decision to “enter the media space and host the podcast” before it launched last month.
“Rich, that’s what he’s doing,” James said. “That’s his whole thing, [and] 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.”
McMenamin then reported that Reggie Berry, who represents Reaves, “approached Paul” during the Lakers’ 141-116 home win over the Atlanta Hawks on 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,” per McMenamin.
This report also comes weeks after Paul shut down trade speculation involving James and the Golden State Warriors. A source told The Ringer’s Bill Simmons that Golden State is still pursuing the future Hall of Famer.
LeBron James Praises Reaves
After the podcast episode, James said everything has been cool between him and Reaves.
“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. I’m a grown man, he’s a grown man and I think people should realize that grown men can say whatever the f—k they want to say, and it shouldn’t reflect somebody else is saying it.”
This is one of the many downfalls of the social media era.
Coaches, athletes, and agents can say anything they want at any time, with a tweet or while on a live-stream podcast, without consequences from the league.
It would benefit the NBA to establish a new social media policy that would prevent players, coaches, agents, and team personnel from appearing in podcasts or engaging with fans on the internet during the season.
That rule should be applied across the four major U.S. professional sports leagues.
