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Rich Paul questions whether the Lakers are ‘contenders’

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Dec 9, 2025 2:29 PM ET

Agent Rich Paul sent the Los Angeles Lakers something of a warning despite their good start to the season.

Paul, best known as LeBron James’ agent, suggested the Lakers have more work to do in order to seriously contend for an NBA title. In the debut episode of his new “Game Over” podcast with Max Kellerman, Paul questioned whether the Lakers can even make the Western Conference Finals as they are currently constructed.

“I personally don’t think the Lakers are good enough to be contenders right now. Not right now. I don’t think they have enough to get to the Western Conference Finals,” Paul said. “When you go into the playoffs, we’ve seen last year, they ran into athleticism and length. They struggled. When you look at it now, athleticism, length, shooting, speed. Can the Lakers play fast? I don’t think so. That style of play is going to be very easy to guard when you get to the playoffs.”

Rich Paul doesn’t think the Lakers are contenders

“I personally don’t think the Lakers are good enough to be contenders, not right now. I don’t think they have enough to get to WCF… their style of play will be very easy to defend when you get into playoffs”

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The Lakers are off to a 17-6 start, and most would lump them in as a potential contender. Whether they are in the same class as the Oklahoma City Thunder is another question.

To a certain degree, Paul might be publicly challenging the Lakers to make moves to improve and give themselves a better chance at winning a title. It would not be the first time James and his camp have done something like that.

Either way, it is not necessarily ideal for a star player’s agent to be out in public questioning his client’s team’s championship credentials. Even if the Lakers privately agree, this might not be something they want being discussed in the public domain.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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