The Los Angeles Lakers have been one of the surprise teams this season as they currently sit in second place in the Western Conference at 17-6 with a number of key players missing time with injuries.
Despite them having LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves though, plus some quality role player signings this past offseason. there are still people that are skeptical the Lakers can compete for a championship this season.
It appears one of those people is James’ agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, as he explained in the first episode of the “Game Over” podcast with Max Kellerman:
“I personally don’t think the Lakers are good enough to be contenders, not right now. I don’t think they have enough to get to WCF, I don’t think they have enough to contend from that perspective right now… When you have the talent up top, those guys can win games… But then, things start to really, when you come to the back half of the season where guys have their conditioning, they’re in rhythm, they’re scouting you different, it’s one thing. Then when you go into the playoffs, we saw last year, they ran into athleticism and length and they struggled. So when you look at it now, athleticism, length, shooting, speed, right? Because now, can the Lakers play fast? I don’t think so. And style of play. That style of play is gonna be very easy to guard when you get into playoffs… They’re not a better team than Denver, [Houston] has athletes… I think there’s a couple changes to be made in short-term, and the long. In the short, I’m putting LeBron as the screener because no offense to Ayton or Jaxson Hayes, they’re just not the decision-maker coming out of the pick-and-roll… But now all you need in that case, we’ve seen it, the guy in the dunker’s spot and then the guy in the short corner, if they make shots, then you’re very tough to beat. Some teams may just switch it, but it depends on who’s guarding [LeBron]. You have to have two really good defenders on your team in order to just switch LeBron and Luka pick-and-roll.”
Paul is certainly entitled to his opinion and he may very well be right. At this point in the season though, the Lakers are focusing on racking up as many wins as possible to put them in the best position to compete in the postseason.
As the trade deadline approaches, it will be interesting to see if Rob Pelinka makes any moves to address Paul’s concerns, as speed and athleticism are definitely things the Lakers are lacking.
Rich Paul confirms LeBron James will finish season with Lakers
There was some uncertainty regarding LeBron James and if he will finish the season with the Lakers, but Rich Paul put an end to that by confirming he won’t be traded.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
