LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers trade rumors, LeBron Rich Paul comments, Austin Reaves, Jaren Jackson Jr., Herb Jones, Jonathan Kuminga, Luka Doncic, Lakers trade targets, Lakers news, Rich Pual, Luka Doncic, Lakers trade drama, Lou Williams, Chandler Parsons
There has been major drama between Austin Reaves, LeBron James, and Rich Paul over his comments on Lakers trade rumors and potential moves.
The Los Angeles Lakers are no strangers to trade rumors, but new developments from the franchise signal they are in a situation no professional sports team has been in before.
Recentlyon his podcast, LeBron James‘ longtime friend and agentRich Paulurged the team to trade star Austin Reaves for Jaren Jackson Jr. of the Memphis Grizzlies.
Paul has been outspoken in the past on his thoughts on James and the Lakers as a whole, but his latest comments on urging Los Angeles to trade one of their top players have provided for some wild moments in Laker Land over the past few days.
Speaking on their show, Run It Back On FanDuel TV, two former NBA players, Chandler Parsons and Lou Williams, both commented on the growing drama within the Lakers’ organization.
“Trade him for Jaren Jackson,” Williams said, seemingly agreeing with Paul’s take, which has caughtmajor backlash. “The Lakers chase championships. They’re not into rebuilds or development. They’re into banners.”
“It’s not the worst idea, it really isn’t,” Parsons added. “(But) I feel real bad (for Reaves).”
After the Lakers’ latest win over the Atlanta Hawks, James made his thoughts clear on the subject, pledging his allegiance to his friend and teammate in Reaves, while saying he had not spoken to his agent about his comments.
Rich Paul Creating Drama For Lakers Amid Trade Rumors
Back to the original comment that stemmed all the recent drama for the Lakers, Paul said on his podcast, Game Over, with former ESPN pundit Max Kellerman, that he believes Los Angeles should trade Reaves for Jackson.
While a potential conflict of interest on multiple fronts, one of Reaves’ agents, Reggie Berry, reportedly confronted Paul over his comments, according to team insider Dave McMenamin. When asked about his thoughts on Paul, Reaves, and the overall situation, James made himself clear.
“AR knows how I feel about him. All you got to do is look at us on the bench. Me and AR talk every single day,” he said. “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.”
But back to Berry reportedly speaking to Paul about the situation, Williams said both sides have a right to express their thoughts and frustrations about the mess.
Run It Back
Austin Reaves’ agent confronted Rich Paul over recent trade comments 👀
Lou Williams says LeBron’s agent has the right to voice his Lakers opinions, but that allows Reaves’ representation to express themselves as well…
@MichelleDBeadle | @ChandlerParsons | @TeamLou23
“At the end of the day, this is the world we live in. Everybody has a microphone, everybody has a platform,” Williams said. “Everyone has a right to say what they want. I know it can get tricky when it comes to (Paul) because he has clients and he has people involved.”
Parsons added that he feels Reaves has the right to be upset by the entire saga,due to the fact that he had nothing to do with Paul’s comments, but is now feeling the brunt of their impact.
The two also shared the claim that they believe Paul won’t stop voicing his thoughts on his podcast anytime soon, and that’s just the situation the Lakers are in now with James on the team and the outstretched influence of Paul and Klutch Sports in the NBA.
LeBron James Shines In Much-Needed Lakers Win
Outside of the recent drama in Los Angeles, James put together a strong performance in their latest win over the Hawks. He finished with 31 points, nine rebounds, and ten assists on 12/20 shooting in 33 minutes. James was just one rebound shy of becoming the oldest player in league history to record a triple-double.
Though Father Time finally seems to be catching up to the 41-year-old in his record-breaking 23rd season, James is still putting in solid performances when on the court for the Lakers this year. While his averages of 22.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 6.9 assists are down compared to the rest of his career, still putting up those numbers as the oldest player in the league would be nearly impossible to fathom for any other player.
Recently,it was announced by the NBA and Topps that James willbe wearing a special edition 23rd season patch on his jersey for therest of the season, one that willgo onto collectable trading cards with a likely very high value.
There are still some questions on James, both in terms of his efficiency and future with the Lakers, but for now, barring the recent drama created by Paul, as well as his ‘TBD’ status on back-to-backs for the rest of the year, his performance against Atlanta was nothing short of ‘prime LeBron.’
Away from all of the drama is Luka Doncic, who leads the league in scoring and continues to put up All-NBA and MVP candidate-level numbers on a near-nightly basis. In the win over the Hawks, he finished with 27 points, five rebounds, and a game-high 12 assists, while also committing seven turnovers, which didn’t end up mattering by the final buzzer.