Rich Paul responds to explosive report alleging friction between him, Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have looked like the television drama “The Old and the Restless” this season. Now Rich Paul is responding to the latest claim about his relationship with the team.

A story from Bleacher Report this week claimed that Paul, the Klutch Sports agent who represents LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and other Lakers, was unhappy with the team’s front office. The report alleged that Paul was upset with Lakers GM Rob Pelinka’s supposed refusal to trade for another Klutch Sports client.

On Monday, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith addressed the story on “First Take.”

“Rich Paul called me yesterday and asked me to quote him on this story about him … He wanted me to state emphatically that there was absolutely, positively no truth to that whatsoever,” said Smith. “He never did that. He did not do that. The people who wrote the story never contacted him to get any kind of perspective from him on that.

“It is an absolute lie,” Smith went on. “He said, ‘Could you please do me a favor and quote me and tell the world that I specifically said that’s a damn lie. It’s no truth. It never happened.'”

Paul is perhaps the single most powerful agent in basketball right now and also represents Lakers players Talen Horton-Tucker and Kendrick Nunn in addition to James and Davis. That is why the claims of Paul being angered with the team’s front office caused such a stir.

But while this particular story about Paul may not be true, that does not mean that all is peachy keen in Lakerland right now. The team enters the second half at just 27-31 amid a season of underachieving and dysfunction. There are also signs that James himself is upset with the Lakers’ front office.

Photo: Jan 12, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; NBA agent Rich Paul talks on the phone prior to the game between the Charlotte Hornets and Philadelphia 76ers at the Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Mitchell Leff-USA TODAY Sports