Rich Paul gives LeBron James' reasoning behind his Los Angeles Lakers exit
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Rich Paul gives LeBron James' reasoning behind his Los Angeles Lakers exit originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
LeBron James' superb eight-year run with the Los Angeles Lakers just ended on the eve of the 2026 free agency period. This is the first time that he will not be with the Lakers in eight years, which is a major decision for possibly his final run in his illustrious NBA career.
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He does not plan on ending his career just yet, as he will sign with another team in the coming days. There are already rumors floating around, including joining up with his rival, Stephen Curry, and the Golden State Warriors.
Super agent Rich Paul reveals why LeBron James left the Lakers
As LeBron's long-time agent, Rich Paul is always involved when it comes to the 41-year-old's career decisions. They are always in tune with each other when it comes to major choices, as happened during this crucial time.
While they both gauged what could happen, it seems they concluded that the Lakers would not be the optimal decision in the end. This marks the end of a legendary stint for LeBron, as he led the Lakers to another championship.
MORE: LeBron James shares his free agency future on social media
It seems it was a well-thought-out decision for LeBron because he weighed all of his options. He thinks it is the right thing to do, and as his longtime agent, it seems Paul is aware of that, and is supportive of him the whole way through.
"Once he got to a place where he said, 'Listen man, I understand where things are. I get it, I know that's where I could make the most money. For me, where I'm at today, it's probably not the best thing for me.' I said, are you 100% sure? The one thing we definitely wanted to do was to be concsious of that and be respectful to the organization," Paul said on his Game Over podcast with Max Kellerman.
Paul also revealed that he had cordial conversations with general manager Rob Pelinka and head coach JJ Redick. It seems they came to a mutual decision that it was the right time to end things.
It is a solemn ending for one of the greatest stints in recent NBA history. However, it seems LeBron is ready for a new challenge where he would also be paid what he's worth. It will be an interesting situation to follow because he is still one of the league's mega stars, despite being in his 40s.
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