The recent report from ESPN’s Baxter Holmes on Los Angeles Lakers‘ active owner Jeanie Buss and her relationship with her family, the franchise, and specifically with LeBron James, has caught fire in the NBA world.
Baxter claimed the relationship between Buss and James was, and is not, what has been publicly reported, saying that she once discussed the idea of trading the star to the Los Angeles Clippers, and also said he didn’t feel James wasn’t grateful enough when the team drafted his son, Bronny James.
While both the star and Buss have made comments denying the report, James’ agent, the ever-outspoken Rich Paul, continues to discuss his thoughts on the issue.
In a new episode of his podcast, Game Over, Paul, for the second straight time, once again denied the report from Holmes that detailed a messy relationship between the Lakers’ chief decision-maker and his client, James.
“We have been treated great, we will continue to be treated great,” Paul said. “I am so happy that Jeanie was able to do what she’s done and the value of the team went up.”
Rich Paul On The LeBron James, Jeanie Buss, Lakers Drama
On his podcast, Paul had previously stated that he didn’t care about Baxter’s report, denying the claim of tension that the article indicated.
“Who gives (expletive),” Paul said on a previous episode. “I don’t, right? You don’t know what’s true, what’s not true. But where there’s smoke, there’s fire. I seen some of the stuff that came out about it and obviously they talked about different scenarios in terms of power that we may have…And there (expletive) sure should be appreciation for a guy like LeBron.”
In his latest episode, Paul went on to continue his denial of the claims written by Baxter. He again took the approach that the Lakers should be appreciative of James, himself, and everything they’ve done for the franchise.
“I don’t need a thank you because I’m shown a thank you every time I walk in the building,” Paul added. “It’s not about what you say, it’s about what you do.”
In a statement to Sam Amick of The Athletic, Buss herself also denied the claims of her tumultuous relationship with James.
“It’s really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled into my family drama,” she wrote. “To say that it wasn’t appreciated is just not true and completely unfair to him.”
“It’s really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled
Additionally, when asked about his thoughts on it all, James gave a blunt response.
“Quite frankly, I don’t really care about articles. I don’t care about stories. I don’t care about podcasts and all that type of (expletive). It don’t bother me,” he said, per Dave McMenamin. “I don’t care about an article. I don’t care how someone feel about me. If you know me personally, then you know what I’m about. These guys know what I’m about and that’s all that matters. I could care less how someone feel about me.”
LeBron James Lakers Future Extremely Uncertain
While all parties involved have either denied or thrown Baxter’s report to the wayside, questions about James’ future with the Lakers have come into serious question over the past few days.
Speaking on the Pat McAfee Show, NBA insider Shams Charania said that ‘the end is near‘ between the player and franchise.
“The reality of what we have right here is the end of a relationship in terms of LeBron James and the Lakers,” he stated. “Whether that comes at the end of this season if LeBron James decides as a free agent to sign somewhere else or he decides to retire or he decides to come back for one more year and decide he wants to retire as a Laker…The end is near however you wanna slice it.”
After picking up his player option, James is set to become a free agent this summer, and it previously remained unknown if he would resign with the team, head somewhere else in free agency, or retire.
When asked if the Lakers are the team he wanted to finish the season with, James gave little clarity on that question in his response.
“I‘m good. I’m good,” he said. “I’m good.”
Writing for Bleacher Report, Grant Hughes stated that, with all the signs, this could be the end for James in Los Angeles.
“If the union is already broken, there’s really no reason for James or anyone who represents him to hold back. Paul might have said exactly the same thing years ago, when James was still in a powerful position. It’s just that there are no consequences anymore,” he wrote. “Odds are, this is not how LeBron wants to end his career. The trouble is, he’s not going to find another situation where he wields the level of influence he did with the Lakers.”
Rich Paul Fires Back At LeBron-Jeanie Buss Drama As Lakers Future Unravels