LeBron James has been with the Los Angeles Lakers for eight years now, twice as many as he spent with the Miami Heat. Even so, most fans will probably think of him more often in a Cavs or Heat jersey than with a Lakers jersey.
James’ four years in Miami were as intense as they were short-lived. He was in his physical prime there, he became a villain and a hero there, and he finally won his first NBA championship there. However, things didn’t end well, and he wound up going back to Cleveland after a tough loss in the NBA Finals.
Fast forward to today, and it seems like James’ camp is still reminiscing about greener pastures. In fact, his agent and confidant, Rich Paul, may have taken a big shot at the Lakers when comparing them to his previous team.
LeBron’s agent Rich Paul says the Lakers lack ‘Heat Culture’
“LeBron was always a pro, regardless of what Miami was, sometimes that gets misconstrued. But going back to mindset, Pat Riley’s mindset, Pat had a championship mindset. So the foundation was it don’t matter if you’re upset, we’re doing things this way. If there was room to grow for the Lakers, it would be in that department,” Paul told Max Kellerman on their new "Game Over" podcast.
Ironically, Pat Riley got started as a coach during his days with the Lakers, and it’s hard to think of an organization with a better winning culture than the one with the second-most NBA championships.
Also, Pat Riley’s approach, while effective, has reportedly rubbed plenty of star players the wrong way. It happened with Shaquille O’Neal, Jimmy Butler, and even with him and Dwyane Wade, and they haven’t won another championship since the Big 3 era.
Rich Paul doesn’t like the Lakers’ championship chances
Notably, James’ agent didn’t stop there. He also stated that the No. 2-seeded Lakers weren’t a championship contender right now, adding that JJ Redick’s coaching style might be easy to neutralize in the postseason:
"I personally don't think the Lakers are good enough to be contenders, not right now," Paul said. "I don't think they have enough to get to the Western Conference Finals. Their style of play will be very easy to defend when you get into the playoffs.”
Paul is one of LeBron’s closest friends, so whatever he’s saying probably comes from the four-time NBA champion.
Perhaps he’s just pushing the front office to make a big move at the trade deadline, or maybe this is truly how he and/or LeBron feel. Whatever the case, this might not be the type of attention his most famous client needs in what will most likely be his farewell season.