Who knew a player agent openly discussing why one of his client’s teammates should be traded would cause such a ruckus? Actually, that one was pretty predictable when you say it out loud.<\/p>\n
For those who need to be caught up to speed, Rich Paul and Max Kellerman started a podcast recently. There have been several comments from Paul that have not sat well<\/a> with the Los Angeles Lakers. The most recent that has kicked things up a notch? That would be the Klutch Sports CEO openly floating the idea of trading Austin Reaves for Jaren Jackson Jr.<\/p>\n Dave McMenamin reported<\/a>: “One of Reaves’ agents … approached Paul on the sideline near half court at halftime of the Lakers-Hawks game Tuesday. The two spoke for more than five minutes and the topic of conversation was Paul’s public trade scenario regarding Reaves, sources told ESPN.”<\/p>\n The Lakers and the Cleveland Cavaliers have continued to stand out as the two most logical places<\/a> where LeBron James would end his legendary career. If this situation were to grow any uglier, the end result could become pretty straightforward.<\/p>\n Rich Paul\u2019s growing noise might be doing Cleveland a massive favor<\/p>\n In McMenamin’s report above, James tried to highlight that Paul’s podcast is not a reflection of the Lakers star. They are two different men with two different viewpoints. LeBron said Reaves knew his feelings.<\/p>\n It could be as simple as that. This could be a bump in the road that eventually becomes an afterthought. Perhaps whatever conversations took place between the agents have settled things down a bit too.<\/p>\n However, if you’re the Lakers, with both stars set to hit free agency in the summer, there is a clear priority.<\/p>\n Reaves is hitting his prime and has shown strong flashes of capability in filling the shoes as the co-star for Luka Doncic. James is nearing the end of his NBA journey.<\/p>\n Should Paul continue to be a distraction, and the Lakers feel better to simply wipe their hands clean of the situation, that paves the way for the Cavaliers reunion that Cleveland fans have dreamed of<\/a> for James’ final stop in the NBA. What other teams really make sense at that point?<\/p>\n