Rich Paul says Lakers not title-ready, questions playoff ceiling

LeBron James’ long-time agent, Rich Paul, believes the Lakers’ strong start has masked some real concerns about their postseason ceiling.

Speaking on the debut episode of his new “Game Over” podcast with Max Kellerman, Paul said Los Angeles still has significant work to do if it wants to contend in the West.

“I personally don’t think the Lakers are good enough to be contenders right now. Not right now,” Paul said. “I don’t think they have enough to get to the Western Conference Finals.”

Paul pointed to the same issues that derailed last year’s playoff run — length, athleticism and pace — and questioned whether the current roster is built to overcome those problems when the games tighten.

“When you go into the playoffs, we’ve seen last year, they ran into athleticism and length. They struggled,” Paul said. “When you look at it now, athleticism, length, shooting, speed. Can the Lakers play fast? I don’t think so. That style of play is going to be very easy to guard when you get to the playoffs.”

The Lakers are off to a 17-6 start behind James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, but Paul’s comments echo an internal theme the organization has acknowledged privately.

Namely, this roster may still need another move before April rolls around.