Inside the meeting between Rich Paul and Lakers brass to clear the air about LeBron
For approximately two hours on Tuesday, the most influential people in LeBron James’ Lakers life sat inside the business offices of the team’s practice facility in El Segundo, Calif., and tried to accomplish one shared goal: Clearing the air after reports of rising tensions and power plays had dominated the NBA news cycle of late.
It was his agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, Lakers owner Jeanie Buss and general manager Rob Pelinka in attendance. And as Paul explained to The Athletic not long after ESPN first reported about the meeting on Friday, it was high time they all got in a room to figure a few things out.
There had been more than two weeks of perceived strife between the two sides, from the Feb. 9 loss to Milwaukee that sparked multiple reports about player frustration with the roster to James’ interview with The Athletic at All-Star weekend in which his choice to discuss a possible return to Cleveland sparked questions about whether he was still happy in Laker Land. In between, with the Lakers’ choice to stand pat at the trade deadline upping the decibel level on this debate, there were myriad messages coming from James that were widely seen as passive-aggressive signs of his discontent.
But Paul strongly refuted the notion that there is any sort of divide between James and the Lakers, or that these were all signs of a grand exit plan that’s yet to come. And when the meeting was all done, one in which Paul said some of the time was even spent “laughing and catching up,” he says they all found themselves in a more productive, peaceful place.
“I just don’t think (communicating indirectly) is the right way of doing business,” Paul, who also represents the Lakers’ Anthony Davis, told The Athletic. “And I don’t think that’s who we are, who LeBron is. We have a great partnership with the Lakers. The Klutch Sports Group and the Lakers don’t have an issue. Rich Paul and Rob Pelinka don’t have an issue. LeBron James and Rob Pelinka don’t have an issue. And Jeanie Buss and LeBron and Rich Paul don’t have an issue. It’s very simple. Very simple. So, you know, whoever put that type of stuff out, and people run with it, I think it’s unfair to the Lakers.”
None of which is to say that all is well with the Lakers, of course.
While James isn’t a free agent until the summer of 2023, he can sign a two-year, $97.1 million extension on Aug. 4 (or, as our John Hollinger chronicles here, do a “1+1”). With those contractual realities nearing, it’s only natural to wonder how James sees his situation both now and going forward. Hence the uptick in analysis when the losing only seemed to compound matters.
As Paul is the first to admit, their 27-31 record and ninth-place standing in the West heading into the break was more than enough to inspire all sorts of internal angst. What’s more, the fact that there were no moves made at the trade deadline meant there would be no renewing of the collective energy. At least not as a result of a new addition.
The widely-reported possibility of the Lakers trading Russell Westbrook for Houston’s John Wall added yet another layer to this situation, as he is also a client of Paul. But Wall hasn’t played all season, meaning the Lakers weren’t able to see the current state of his game and, not surprisingly, weren’t confident about his potential to make a significant impact. Still, the unrest about the roster wasn’t about the Lakers’ choice to retain the 2027 first-round pick that the Rockets were known to be asking for in a Wall-Westbrook deal — or even the 2027 first-round pick swap that sources confirmed would have gotten it done.
It’s more holistic than that.
Beyond the well-chronicled Westbrook struggles, and that Lakers coach Frank Vogel’s decision to go small recently meant Dwight Howard’s and DeAndre Jordan’s roles were suddenly limited and their roster spots were not well-utilized, the season-long absence of free agent addition Kendrick Nunn (right knee bone bruise) certainly hasn’t helped either.
Fifth-year guard Malik Monk has been a bright spot, as he was signed on a one-year minimum deal last summer and is averaging 13 points (39.9 percent from 3-point range on 5.6 attempts per game). But those kinds of success stories, the kind that will always play a pivotal part when it comes to any team’s title contention, have been in short supply for L.A. this season.
Vogel, who has gone from being nearly fired in mid-January to leading this home stretch that they all hope gets so much better, addressed the chatter surrounding James before Friday’s game.
“I think that for us internally, we’re not paying as much attention to this stuff as you all are in the media,” Vogel said. “We’re all excited to just get back on the floor and make this push. We have 24 games to make this run and try to improve our place in the standings and we haven’t really worried about all that stuff, just taking advantage of the time to get away and taking a break and recharge and (being) excited to be back on the floor.
“I learned to let the noise be noise and focus on what’s in front of me, which, that’s winning the next game,” he told reporters. “That’s one thing. And focusing on my family during the break. I enjoyed the break with my family. So that’s just noise.”
