LeBron James Tries to Distance Himself From Rich Paul's Idea to Trade Austin Reaves

Generally speaking, players don't want their agents to be making headlines. 

That apparently applies these days even to LeBron James and his agent Rich Paul, who have long been seen as a symbiotic pair - when Paul speaks, it's on behalf of LeBron. So when Paul used time on his new podcast with Max Kellerman to discuss trade scenarios, including a hypothetical that would send Austin Reaves to Memphis for Jaren Jackson Jr... LeBron was pretty quick to distance himself from the comments. He told ESPN's Dave McMenamin that, to paraphrase, Rich Paul is a grown **s man who is responsible for what comes out of his mouth. That idea had nothing to do with him, and James reiterated how much he loves Austin as a player and a teammate. 

Whether people will buy that explanation is a different matter, but what matters most for the Lakers—who are reportedly annoyed by Paul's repeated attempts to play GM—is whether Austin believes LeBron. If he does, this story is an annoyance, nothing more. 

If he doesn't, or there's reason to believe LeBron isn't being honest? Different kettle of fish. 

Then there's the question of whether Paul is hitting on something that, while not a constructive thing to have in the news cycle, might be good for the Lakers. There is some overlap in skill sets between Reaves and Luka Dončić. There are challenges building a team that can defend with those two at the core. So would Reaves for JJJ make the team better? 

Is there a different deal out there the Lakers ought to consider? 

HOSTS: Andy and Brian Kamenetzky 

SEGMENT 1: The Lakers are dealing with a distraction from... LeBron's agent? 

SEGMENT 2: LeBron says Paul's words aren't his. 

SEGMENT 3: Is Reaves for JJJ a good idea? 

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