LeBron James Clears The Air On Austin Reaves After Rich Paul Remarks

LeBron James stressed that Rich Paul speaks only for Rich Paul, after trade comments about Austin Reaves drew attention. Following the Los Angeles Lakers 141-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks, James made clear that any views from the agent on roster moves should not be linked directly to James.

Paul had discussed the Los Angeles Lakers on a podcast and suggested a move involving Austin Reaves. The agent floated a potential trade that would send Reaves to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for Jaren Jackson Jr., arguing that such a deal could give the Lakers a more balanced roster construction.

James, the all-time leading NBA points scorer, spoke to ESPN after registering 31 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds against the Hawks. James underlined that

the relationship with Paul does not mean every public statement is shared. James said: "I think you all know by now, Rich is his own man and what Rich says is not a direct reflection of me and how I feel. "

The discussion about Austin Reaves comes while Reaves is sidelined. Reaves is averaging 26.6 points, 6.3 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game this season, which are career-best numbers in all three categories, yet Reaves has been out of action since Christmas Day with a calf injury and has not returned.

James expanded on the separation between his own stance and that of his agent. James said he hopes observers can distinguish between the two positions and added that Reaves and Reaves’s representatives should not assume Paul’s podcast comments are coming from James or are influenced by James behind the scenes.

James emphasised the strength of his relationship with Austin Reaves inside the Los Angeles Lakers group. James said Reaves understands that support. "And I hope people know that. I hope people know that and if they're not sensible to know that, then I don't know what to tell them. [Reaves] knows how I feel about him. All you got to do is look at us on the bench. Me and AR talk every single day. So, AR knows how I feel about him and I hope AR, or his camp, don't look at me and think this is words from me that are coming through Rich. Rich has his perspective of what he sees, I have my perspective. I'm a grown man, he's a grown man and I think people should realise that grown men can say whatever the f*** they want to say and it shouldn't reflect somebody else is saying it. "

James’s comments followed one of the Los Angeles Lakers’ most commanding offensive outings of the season. The team posted 141 points against Atlanta, with James almost recording another triple-double while Reaves remained unavailable. The franchise also highlighted the result on social media during the post-game reaction period.

#LakersWIN pic.twitter.com/Z2l8PgzvbqLos Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 14, 2026

The situation leaves the Los Angeles Lakers managing strong production from Austin Reaves earlier in the season, a major injury absence and outside trade speculation driven by Rich Paul’s comments. LeBron James has placed clear distance between those views and personal opinion, while continuing to state firm backing for Reaves within the current roster.