Rich Paul has become arguably the most powerful agent in the NBA, but he will always be associated with just one client. He got into basketball after befriending LeBron James, a high school student, learned the ropes at CAA from James’ second agent, Leon Rose, and when he went out on his own to found Klutch Sports, James was his first client.
But in an interview Friday with Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, Paul made an interesting point about the future of James’ current employer, the Los Angeles Lakers. While he assured Haynes that James has not been involved in the team’s ongoing search for a new head coach, he said that, in his opinion, “the Lakers’ focus should probably be more on Anthony Davis than LeBron in this one.” moment”.
Paul, of course, is also Davis’ agent and helped orchestrate the 2019 trade that brought him to Los Angeles from the New Orleans Pelicans. It’s still a somewhat jarring statement to hear from James’ own agent given LeBron’s stature within the sport, and so it’s worth questioning what exactly a Davis-led future could mean and look like.
James can become a free agent this offseason through a player option, although Paul’s appointment could put Laker fans on alert, everything indicates that he plans to remain in Los Angeles in some capacity. The real question, however, is how much longer he plans to stay there.
James will turn 40 next season. The Athletic’s Shams Charania has reported that the expectation is for James to play one or two more seasons in the NBA, although given how good he continues to be and how much money he can make at least playing a three-year max contract, it should be considered year-to-year. year for the foreseeable future. Paul’s words could suggest that the Lakers should plan for a shorter period of time with James rather than an extended court.
Davis turned 31 in March. He may be closer to the end of his prime than the beginning, but the Lakers can reasonably assume that he still has several years of stardom left in him, as long as he can stay healthy. Part of the plan when the Lakers signed James was that he would eventually pass the franchise baton to another player. That hasn’t happened with Davis yet, but it seems like the plan is still for him to do it.
Where things get complicated is in the management of the squad in the meantime. The Lakers have three first-round picks to trade this offseason. They have been linked to several star guards as targets with those picks, including Trae Young, Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland. Such a player would make a lot of sense as a long-term partner for Davis, who needs a ball handler to set him up for easy baskets around the rim.
But would another high-usage offensive player who doesn’t excel defensively give James the best chance to maximize his own title chances in these final seasons? That’s a more difficult question. The Lakers won their 2020 championship with 3 and D role players surrounding James and Davis.
The new set of second-tier rules built into the league’s CBA means that any team uniting three veteran stars like the Lakers are apparently trying to do would have almost no flexibility to surround those players with worthwhile depth. . The Lakers experienced those depth fears when they acquired Russell Westbrook in a trade. During the 2021-22 season, 10 of his roster spots went to players earning minimum salaries. They’ve spent the last few seasons crawling out of that hole. The 2024 postseason has largely been dominated by teams that have emphasized defense and depth, something this type of trade would prevent.
If the goal is to create a core that can outlast James in Los Angeles, it could be viable. If given a few years to work on the sidelines, a front office could possibly find the right role players to surround Davis and a new guard partner that would allow the Lakers to compete. But it seems unlikely that James can wait that long, and the style that makes the most sense around him would be something closer to his own 2020 model, which emphasizes balance.
There is not necessarily a right answer here. Building a roster even with players as talented as James and Davis is a complex process. If the goal is to win right now, the answer is probably to focus on James. But if the goal is longer-term, Davis might still be young enough to make a multi-year process feasible. Paul, who knows both players better than anyone, seems to believe the latter is the preferable approach.
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