Basketball agent Rich Paul has opened up about the Luka Doncic trade that has directly altered the trajectory of two of his biggest clients.
Paul, whose Klutch agency represents both LeBron James and Anthony Davis, appeared on the “Gil’s Arena” podcast during the All-Star break. Paul was asked to weigh in on the trade that sent Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers in exchange for Davis.
The 44-year-old agent admitted that the deal was a rare moment wherein he was completely blindsided. But he qualified that by stating he was better off not knowing to ensure the trade would go through.
“99.9% of the time, I’m going to know what’s going on,” Paul told podcast host Gilbert Arenas and company. “The one time I didn’t was the one time we all didn’t, per se, know what was going on. It was a shock to everybody. … But you don’t move mountains with everybody knowing. You can’t. And so, I’m glad I didn’t know … because it probably wouldn’t have happened if you did know.”
Paul added that he has always known about Mavericks GM Nico Harrison’s affinity for Davis, which made the latter landing in Dallas unsurprising. The timing of it all was what stunned Paul the most.
With his star-studded pool of clients, Paul has built up significant influence across the NBA. Last year, the man reportedly blocked a potential LeBron trade that would have also had the basketball world buzzing. But even a man of his stature did not hear a peep about the Doncic deal.
With LeBron getting to form a bond with Luka in Los Angeles, it’s obvious that Paul is not upset about being kept in the dark.
