Getty (L-R) LeBron James, Maverick Carter, Quavo, Paul Rivera, and Rich Paul attend the Klutch 2019 All-Star Weekend Dinner.
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James finally broke his silence over his business manager Maverick Carter’s admission of placing sports bets, including NBA games, through an illegal bookie.
“No,” James said via LA Times’ Dan Woike when asked if he was concerned about the perception of Carter’s admission. “Because that’s the only reason it got any legs in the first place because he’s so close to me. But Maverick’s his own man and at the end of the day, gambling is legal. I mean, you can go on your phone right now and do whatever you want. And he has no affiliation with the NBA or NFL, so, he can do what he wants to do.”
The Washington Post reported on November 30 that Carter made the admission during a November 2021 interview with federal agents investigating bookie Wayne Nix.
Carter was never charged while Nix pleaded guilty to charges stemming from his role running a sprawling offshore sports-betting ring, according to the report.
James and Carter were teammates in high school and have several business partnerships, which include SpringHill Entertainment, a media production company, and minority stakes in the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC.
No NBA Policy Violation
While the NBA has embraced legal betting, they have a policy in place that prohibits players, teams and league officials from gambling on the league games. The NBA, however, does not have any jurisdiction over their players’ business managers or agents.
The NBPA, the players union, strictly forbids agents from placing bets on NBA games. But since Carter is only James’ business manager, and not his agent, he is not under obligation to follow that rule.
Carter denied placing bets for other people and he told federal agents he “could not remember placing any bets on the Lakers,” according to an investigative report summarizing the interview via The Washington Post.
LeBron James’ Blunt Assessment of Lakers
James offered a blunt assessment of the Lakers 20 games in, following a 133-110 blowout loss to the rising Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I have no idea what we are,” James said at his locker as the Lakers sit seventh in the West with an 11-9 record. “How? We don’t have a group yet.”
James lamented the early-season injuries to his backup Rui Hachimura, Cam Reddish, Jarred Vanderbilt, Jaxson Hayes and top free-agent acquisition Gabe Vincent.
Five of their nine losses were blowouts to playoff contenders — defending champion Denver Nuggets, Sacramento Kings, Philadelphia 76ers and the Thunder. The Houston Rockets even routed them by 36 points.
The Lakers have struggled rebounding and shooting against teams with size and length.
Lakers Keeping Tabs on John Konchar
As the Lakers struggle out of the gate to start the season, the trade rumor mill has linked them to the next stars available such as Chicago Bulls’ Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan.
But the Lakers have their eyes on a much cheaper option — Memphis Grizzlies’ John Konchar.
“Reserve forward John Konchar is also a candidate to be dealt before the February trade deadline. The Celtics, Warriors, and Lakers are among the teams who’ve kept tabs on Konchar’s situation from afar, HoopsHype has learned,” Scotto wrote.
The 27-year-old Konchar is in his fifth season in the league after going undrafted in 2019. He worked his way up to become part of the Grizzlies rotation starting on a two-way contract.
Without their superstar Ja Morant, the Grizzlies, including Konchar, are struggling. The 6-5 Konchar is only averaging 3.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting a career-low 34.9 percent from the field.