Report: Rich Paul blocked LeBron James trade to Warriors for notable reason

Dec 9, 2021; Memphis, Tennessee, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) warms-up prior to the game against the Memphis Grizzles at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

The idea of LeBron James playing for the Golden State Warriors is something that was floated leading up to the trade deadline last season, but a deal never came close to being finalized. Apparently LeBron’s longtime agent and friend played a big role in that.

According to NBA reporter Marc Stein, one of the reasons talks between the Lakers and Warriors never got far is that Rich Paul was “adamantly opposed” to James being traded. Paul’s primary concern, Stein says, was that it would hurt LeBron’s legacy if the four-time NBA MVP joined a fourth different team.

“Sources say Paul implored both teams to scrap the concept — despite some owner-to-owner dialogue between the Warriors’ Joe Lacob and the Lakers’ Jeanie Buss and Green’s determination to lobby James to push for relocation to the Bay Area — largely because he wanted to insulate James from potential backlash over switching teams for the fourth time in his career,” Stein wrote, via Tristi Rodriguez of NBC Sports Bay Area.

The idea of James being traded never seemed realistic. Now that the Lakers drafted Bronny James, we can say with even more confidence that LeBron was never going to allow the Lakers to move him, even if Golden State was said to have legitimate interest in the deal.

LeBron now has a no-trade clause, which is something he did not have in his previous contract with the Lakers. His previous claim about the Warriors trade rumor is even harder to believe now after the new information surfaced about Paul.