Rich Paul Explains Why He Isn’t Surprised Lakers Lost To Timberwolves

Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul isn’t surprised the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves in the first round of the 2025 NBA playoffs. 

The Timberwolves beat the Lakers in five quick games. 

“But it was clear right away that that was the worst matchup for them for a number of reasons,” Paul told NBA insider Chris Haynes. “Size, athleticism, youth, just depth. And you know, it’s tough to beat a team like that where, outside of Mike Conley, they’re athletic, they’re long in terms of wingspan, they’re fast.

“And then having someone like Ant (Anthony Edwards) who can give you 40. And I also think Ant had a great showing of leadership, just in terms of not really having the best night last night, but didn’t necessarily get out of character. Made the right pass when necessary. And so, that Minnesota team was in the Western Conference Finals last year. I think people put so much into the regular season and how that goes. But that was no surprise to me.”

The Lakers were projected to compete for the championship this year after acquiring Luka Doncic from the Dallas Mavericks. However, Paul never saw Los Angeles as a title contender despite being LeBron James‘ agent. 

“I really didn’t, and I said this on the show as well, I just really didn’t think that the roster for the Lakers was anywhere close to a championship-type roster,” Paul said. “And that’s not making excuses. It’s just a fact. And it’s very hard to build a team for today and tomorrow. You’ve got to have assets. You’ve got to have cap flexibility. You’ve got to have draft capital.”

The Lakers need a center. They played Game 5 without a big man and got destroyed by Rudy Gobert. 

Los Angeles exec Rob Pelinka told local reporters he will attempt to acquire a center this summer. 

“We know this offseason, one of our primary goals is going to be to add size in our frontcourt at the center position,” Pelinka said. “This roster needs more size and needs a center. That’s a very clear and obvious by-product of trading potentially the best big in the league to Dallas to get a point guard. Of course, that’s going to open up a huge hole.

“The trade deadline and the moments up to it don’t allow you the requisite time to explore every single unturned stone to add a big to our roster. We just didn’t have the time after the Luka trade. But now we do.”