LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers have been all over the news for days now. His agent, Rich Paul, fueled speculation about his future with the team when he talked about James' desire to pursue another championship before riding into the sunset.
However, as much as has been said about James and whether the Lakers are gearing up to move on from him, Paul wanted to make it loud and clear that his most prominent client hasn't requested a trade.
More than that, he claimed to be unbothered about all the media frenzy surrounding James and all the trade rumors, adding that he's not going to focus on any of that:
“There's so many voices in today's game and around today's game, and media and things like that,” Paul told SiriusXM NBA Radio. “And everyone has a job to do. For us, hey, let those people do their job. It's not for us to rebuttal or to try to give clarity on what's said, what's not said, that's not the focus. The focus is, hey man, enjoy your summer.”
Paul confirmed that four teams reached out to the Lakers inquiring about James' availability, but that doesn't mean he's available for a trade.
James has a no-trade clause in his contract, so he would have to agree to any potential move, thus limiting his trade value to a degree.
Also, even if the Lakers are now looking to build their team around Luka Doncic as rumored, that doesn't mean they want to part ways with the four-time NBA champion or that they think they have a better shot at contention without him.