Rich Paul’s status as the agent for six Los Angeles Lakers has given him the passion of a fan who believes that the only team that can beat the Lakers in the postseason is the Brooklyn Nets.
Isaac Chotiner of The New Yorker offered a profile of Paul and noted how the agent’s close connection to Lakers players is the reason for his possessive perspective.
“We started talking about the Lakers, who were in a slump. Paul brought up the Nets, saying that they were ‘the only team that can beat us,'” Chotiner wrote. “This sounded like a strangely partisan observation for an agent with clients across the N.B.A., especially after all the criticism he had received when bringing Anthony Davis to the Lakers. ‘I’ve got six guys on the team,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘C’mon.'”
In addition to Davis, Paul also serves as the agent for LeBron James, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Montrezl Harrell, Talen Horton-Tucker and Ben McLemore.
Paul’s closest connection is with James, with those roots dating back to the period when James was still in high school. Over the past two decades, that bond has helped Paul evolve from someone on the fringes of the sport into a major player.
That evolution has caused some conflict along the way for Paul, but with such a potent base of clients, he doesn’t appear to be concerned.
However, he’s no doubt concerned about the Lakers’ chances entering Game 5 of their playoff series against the Phoenix Suns. Davis is reportedly not likely to be available because of injury.
