Rich Paul claims he used LeBron James to pay off his clients

Los Angeles Lakers All-Star LeBron James‘ agent, Rich Paulhe took exception to the idea that his main client plays a role in helping other clients get paid. After Paul called out the Lakers for their poor defensehe went on to hold 100 with Max Kellermann. The longtime NBA agent didn’t hold back in addressing the narratives surrounding his longtime relationship with LeBron.

Paul adamantly denied that James was influencing engages for its other clientshe said, per Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul.

“No, that’s not true. That’s not true, but then again, it’s a fantasy agent,” Paul said. “But the thing was, they were in the tax, they drafted him as a number four. If you ask Tyronn Lue who he wanted on the floor when you had to win. When you have a big that you can switch from one to five, and he might not necessarily stop a guy, but he makes it difficult for a guy, that’s great.”

When Kellerman and Paul discussed getting Tristan Thompson a five-year, $82 million contract in 2015 with the Cleveland Cavs, Paul said he was being paid for being good at his role, and Kellerman balked.

“People would argue because LeBron James gave him power,” Kellerman said, to which Paul replied, “But that’s bullshit. And that’s why I call it a whore. It’s a cop and people want to say that to discredit me, first of all.”

When Kellerman suggested crediting Paul for securing Thompson’s aforementioned contract from a decade ago, Rich disagreed.

“No, that’s incorrect. That’s not true, but again, it’s a fantasy agent. But the fact was they were in the tax, they picked him as number four,” Paul said. “If you ask Tyronn Lue who he wanted on the floor when you needed to win. When you have a big that you can switch from one to five, and he might not necessarily stop a guy, but he makes it difficult for a guy, that’s great.

Austin Reeves calls for ‘weakness’ to prove Rich Paul wrong

Veteran veteran Austin Reeves agreed Rich Paul’s take on the Lakers’ biggest weakness lies on the defensive end of the floor. Reaves talked about the Lakers flaw following Wednesday’s 132-119 NBA Cup quarterfinal loss, per ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“That’s a weakness we have to get better at. The spirit is still high here, we know we can do it … But we have to be a five-man guard group,” Reaves told McMenamin.

The Spurs will face the Thunder in the NBA Cup semifinals on Saturday in Las Vegas.