LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers
Getty
LeBron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers
It’s true that Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has hinted in the past that he would like to be involved in an ownership group in the NBA, and that he could see taking the reins of a team as being one of his top post-career maneuvers. With the NBA nearing a decision on expanding to 32 teams, and with franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle said to be next on the docket, there’s been chatter that James could seek to retire from the league even though he is still playing at a high level, with an eye on moving quickly into ownership.
In fact, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus wrote this week that James and his agent, Rich Paul, could be primed to take hold of the Las Vegas franchise. “James might retire, and his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, might sell the rest of his agency to UTA (United Talent Agency). With financial backing, they then might look to step into ownership roles,” Pincus wrote.
That does fit with things James himself has said in the past. But as for Rich Paul … well, he said he is not quite in that kind of company.
Rich Paul: ‘There’s No Truth or Basis’
Speaking on his “Game Over” podcast on The Ringer, Paul said he and the Lakers star have no plans to dabble in NBA ownership when James retires.
Paul noted: “I don’t know Eric Pincus, but I appreciate him. Because he put in a level I didn’t know I arrived to. Which is unbelievable. What I will say is, I haven’t talked to Eric Pincus, I don’t know where that article came from. There’s no truth or basis for it. I don’t know where any truth or merit comes to that.”
In fairness to Pincus, he simply stated a rumor that has long been attached to James and couched Paul’s potential involvement with the word, “might.” And he did not say Paul would buy the team, but rather, that Paul and James would be the faces of the franchise with other financial backing.
Rich Paul, Los Angeles Lakers, Cleveland Cavaliers
GettyKlutch Sports CEO Rich Paul
Lakers’ LeBron James Has Not Talked Ownership
Still, Paul said pretty clearly that taking ownership of the Las Vegas team after James is done with the Lakers is not something he’s discussed with his star player. In fact, he said, if he did get involved with ownership, it would not be in Las Vegas.
Paul continued: “But what I will say is, to understand the importance of buying a team—one, I don’t have enough money to buy a team. So, I didn’t keep you in the dark, that’s No. 1. He may foresee something down the road so I hope Eric is right. He may be a hell of a guy. … I think he mentioned Vegas, that’s not the team I would want to buy. Because there’s no upside. If you’re buying a team, that is a pretty big asset to have and you want opportunity for growth.
“I am gonna want a team where, the business side, I have the right partners, I am able to have the right ticket packages and things like that, I am going to have the right TV deal and so on and so forth. The Vegas team would cost $10 billion. I wouldn’t wanna pay $10 billion for a team. This notion that—obviously, LeBron and I are always going to be paired—but I’ve never had a conversation with LeBron about anything, let alone about buying a team.”