Rich Paul has put an end to months of speculation surrounding LeBron James’ future, and he did it in the most direct way possible. Paul made it clear that James will finish the season with the Los Angeles Lakers, no matter how loud the rumors get.
While offseason conversations included everything from retirement to a late-career move elsewhere, none of that ever materialized. James returned from a right-side sciatica issue for his 23rd NBA season, and 8th campaign in purple and gold, with the Lakers now sitting at 17 wins and 6 losses. Still, noise persisted about a potential trade if the season took a negative turn.
Paul shut all of that down when Kellerman repeatedly pressed him about a hypothetical deal to the New York Knicks.
“No. Yeah, where’s he gonna go? … Does LeBron make the Knicks better? Yes, he would, of course, but 29 other teams would say the same thing. … The only way that would happen or could happen, first of all, he has a no-trade clause,” Paul said appearing on the first episode of his new Game Over podcast with Max Kellerman. “So he would have to agree to that, in the event he didn’t and they just decide to trade him there. … Listen, it definitely makes them better, I will give you that. I don’t really play fantasy basketball, but he definitely makes them better.”
That answer leaves no ambiguity. James is staying in Los Angeles through the season, and any major career decisions will be pushed into the summer. Reports have hinted this could be his final year with the franchise, but nothing will be addressed until after the Lakers’ playoff push.
Following his best outing of the year in a win over Philadelphia, James reflected on where his game is trending:
“At forty years old, I mean, it just takes a while for my body to kind of get back into a rhythm,” James said. “And so it felt good tonight to kind of feel like myself a little bit.”
READ MORE: Luka Doncic Says Being a Girl Dad Twice Is ‘Best Thing in the World’