The age of sports podcasts has brought some weird scenarios that have never been seen before in the NBA. Case in point: the latest drama with renowned agent Rich Paul. Paul, who represents Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, advocated in his podcast for the team to trade Austin Reaves for Jaren Jackson Jr. These comments have caused another uncomfortable situation in Los Angeles given Paul's close relationship with James.
A few days after that controversial podcast clip went viral, James has spoken out about the issue. The Lakers star first distanced himself from Paul's comments, saying that his agent's comments are not indicative of how he feels.
“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. “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.”
James also emphasized that his relationship with Reaves was as strong as ever. The Lakers star said that he hoped that Reaves doesn't take Paul's comments as his own.
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“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.
This isn't the first time that Paul's comments on his podcast has caused a stir in the Lakers' camp. Earlier in the season, Paul caught a lot of flack after saying on his podcast that the Lakers are not “championship contenders” after losing in the NBA Cup.
The Lakers are currently fifth in the Western Conference with a 24-14 record. They are coming off a 141-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks, with James scoring 31 points on 12-of-20 shooting and adding ten assists and nine rebounds.