Rich Paul: Lakers should do everything they can to keep LeBron James

Rich Paul is a little biased, given that he’s LeBron James‘ agent. But like most everyone else, he has seen what James has done for the Lakers lately.

What has James done? How about carrying the Lakers to a 3-0 series lead over the Rockets in the first round of the playoffs, hitting some of the postseason’s biggest shots and making some of its biggest plays along the way.

All this at 41 years old. All this without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. All this when a lot of people had written off the Lakers.

“When you have a player like LeBron James, on and off the court, et cetera, you keep that guy a part of your organization,” Paul said on the Game Over podcast.”The Lakers should be delighted that he played there, No. 1. And also, they should be doing everything they can to make sure he’s a part of that organization going forward.”

Paul added, “Because guess what? You won’t find another.” 

In other words, Paul is suggesting that the Lakers should consider keeping James around even after James is done playing — much like the Jazz did by adding Dwyane Wade and the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders did by adding Tom Brady.

These comments, of course, also come just before James hits unrestricted free agency during the offseason. The rumors about what happens next are already running rampant. Will he return to the Lakers? Will he return to the Cavaliers? Or what about the Warriors?

Some suggest he could indeed retire, but that seems unlikely, considering his recent play.

While this series has gone well for LeBron and the Lakers, they seemingly are headed for a clash with the defending champion Thunder in the second round. How they fare there will go a long way in determining the offseason narrative, and perhaps, James’ future.