Did Austin Reaves' Agent Confront Rich Paul Over The Jaren Jackson Jr Trade Proposal?

Over the past several weeks, Rich Paul has been dishing out some hot takes on his “Game Over” podcast with Max Kellerman. It was only a matter of time, then, before someone publicly took issue with the outspoken Klutch Sports CEO.

On Wednesday, ESPN’s Dave McMenamin reported that an agent representing Los Angeles Lakers guard Austin Reaves approached Paul during a recent Lakers game. From the looks of it, the subject of discussion was a trade proposal floated by Paul on “Game Over”: Reaves for the Memphis Grizzlies’ defensive stalwart Jaren Jackson Jr.

“One of Reaves' agents, Reggie Berry of AMR Agency, approached Paul on the sideline near half court at halftime of the Lakers-Hawks game Tuesday,” McMenamin wrote. “The two spoke for more than five minutes, and the topic of conversation was Paul's public trade scenario regarding Reaves, sources told ESPN.”

Reaves can hardly be blamed for feeling a certain way towards Paul’s trade proposal. Throughout his five seasons with the Lakers, the undrafted star out of Oklahoma has steadily improved his scoring and playmaking. This season, Reaves is averaging 26.6 points and 6.3 assists per game, along with 5.2 rpg and 1.0 spg.

While Paul is certainly not the first basketball personality to suggest that the Lakers jettison Reaves, the optics make this situation rather messy; after all, Paul is the longtime friend and agent of LeBron James, who could pick up some gains if the purple and gold squad ships the up-and-coming star.

“Austin Reaves would be gone, and that would benefit LeBron James, who would have the ball in his hands even more. We’re supposed to ignore that? ” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said on the Wednesday edition of his “First Take” program. “There’s a history of LeBron James directly or indirectly influencing team moves, using media and podcasts to do it.”

Smith did add that Paul could be “his own man” who doesn’t necessarily state LBJ-backed opinions all the time. Still, the timing of Paul’s trade proposal (with the trade deadline just three weeks away) is eyebrow-raising, to say the least. Fans are now left to wonder whether Reaves’ agent was able to sway the Klutch Sports head honcho, one way or another.