To say that Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has his fair share of haters would be an understatement. All the great ones do. Then again, there are those who take their criticism to a different level. Take for instance this unnamed NBA agent, who went on a lengthy rant about how LeBron and good friend turned business partner Rich Paul are unethically dominating the sport.
Throughout his monologue, this anonymous agent kept on saying how much he loved LeBron and pretty much everything he stands for. However, this did not stop him from going on an all-out tirade about how he's destroying the game:
“The worst thing that LeBron is doing is forcing this power with Rich Paul and what that is, in terms of, he’s a player, but he has prowess in the media space,” the NBA agent started on the Lakers star and Paul, via Ben Standig and Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. “But now that they’ve jumped into the agent game, which the reality is, it’s illegal for a player, particularly if you’re in the state of California, to be licensed to represent talent.
“Now I know it’s this façade that it’s Rich Paul, but it’s really LeBron who recruits for Rich Paul. So it’s almost like they’re trying to control AAU at the NBA level.”
It's no surprise that this perspective is coming from an NBA agent, who has likely bene in competition with Rich Paul and his agency, Klutch Sports. Then again, he presents some proof as to why he believes that Paul — and in essence LeBron James as well — have terribly mismanaged their talents:
“They’ve been able to leverage [Kentavious Caldwell-Pope], two or three years in a row because they have the power and they’re forcing it down their throat. Nerlens Noel. There are four or five of them that have suffered millions of dollars from mismanagement but nobody has the courage to support it, because all the media wants access to LeBron… Nerlens Noel. Norris Cole. Shabazz Muhammed. They lost $80 million in Detroit. This is real talk.”
Our anonymous source here today is more than willing to name names, but perhaps his accusations would have had more credibility if he also revealed his true identity.
It did not stop there, though. The agent then took a shot at the NBPA for allegedly turning a blind eye on all of this:
“And you have to call out the union,” the very mad NBA agent said regarding the Lakers superstar's power. “They should be meeting with Rich Paul, saying, ‘What happened here? What happened here? They represent all the players. They all pay the same amount for dues. If Rich Paul were a lawyer, he’d be disbarred five times. But because LeBron is so powerful, there is no accountability.”
The agent ended his rant with more praise for LeBron James and how this is the “only bad part” about the four-time NBA champ. He says he loves James. It's just that he can't stand his involvement in the world of sports management. Makes sense, I guess.
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