Stephen A. Smith calls out Rich Paul for Austin Reeves trade remarks

Stephen A. Smith publicly criticized Rich Paul on First Take on Wednesday, pushing back on Paul’s recent comments suggesting that the Los Angeles Lakers should consider trading guard Austin Reaves for Jarren Jackson Jr..

Smith addressed the situation directly, highlighting Paul’s experience and influence in NBA circles and the inevitable assumptions that follow when comments intersect with the Lakers and LeBron James.

“Now you have a podcast as an agent. You’re not some rookie that just arrived. You’ve been in this game for a while, I’m talking about Rich Paul. You’ve made deals, you’ve influenced deals, you’ve been accused of influencing deals that have been made. And we all know you’re tied at the hip that there’s something about James B, it’s something that directly affects James, LeBron that’s going to be an assumption, fair or unfair, and Rich Paul is very smart not to knows.

Smith, who has described himself as friends with Paul but not James, said Paul is too smart to inadvertently wade into such controversy. He suggested the circumstances raised questions of intent, given Paul’s stature and proximity to the league’s most powerful figures.

Paul sparked the discussion during his Game Over podcast, where he floated the idea of ​​the Lakers targeting Memphis Grizzlies forward Jackson as a trade acquisition while discussing roster construction.

“If I were the Lakers, I’d target the Memphis Grizzlies as a trade partner for Jaren Jackson. . . . If you’re building around Luke, you need that anchor. Jaren doesn’t want to be part of the rebuild. . . .”

Rich Paul Austin Reeves’ trade idea gets a response from LeBron James

Paul also addressed Reaves’ future contract prospects while describing the script.

“There’s a world where you can do what’s best for your team and what’s best for Austin. Austin deserves to be paid … Memphis would definitely pay Austin. He’d become their best scorer and player,” he said.

Following The Lakers beat the Atlanta Hawks 141-116 on tuesday night, James addressed the comments and sought to separate himself from Paul’s objections.

“I think you all know by now that Rich is his own man and what Rich says is not a direct reflection of me and how I feel,” James told ESPN. “And I hope people know that. I hope people know that, and if they’re not smart enough to know that, then I don’t know what to tell them.”

James also noted that he has strengthened his relationship with Reaves.

“AR knows how I feel about him,” James told ESPN. “All you have to do is look at us on the bench. Me and AR talk every day. So AR knows how I feel about him and I hope AR — or his camp — doesn’t look at me and think these are my words coming through Rich.”

The situation went to court Tuesday night, according to ESPN. Dave McMenamin reported that one of the Reaves’ agents approached Paul during the game.

“One of Reeves’ agents, AMR’s Reggie Berry, approached Paul on the sideline near halfcourt on Tuesday at halftime of the Lakers-Hawkes game. The two spoke for more than five minutes, and the topic of conversation was Paul’s public trade scenario involving Reaves, sources told ESPN.”

The Lakers will now turn their attention back to the court, hosting the Charlotte Hornets (14-26) on Thursday night before briefly facing the Portland Trail Blazers (19-22) on Saturday.