Rich Paul reportedly gave notable update on LeBron James trade talk

Rich Paul has suggested that LeBron James could seek a trade if the Los Angeles Lakers do not position themselves to contend for a championship next season, and the agent even says he has heard from several teams about the possibility.

During a Monday evening appearance on ESPN’s “NBA Today,” Dave McMenamin relayed a conversation he had with Paul about the potential of James being traded. Paul told McMenamin that four teams have reached out to inquire about LeBron’s availability, though Paul has not entertained those discussions.

“When I talked to Rich, he told me that he has not had any discussions with the Lakers about wanting a trade, on the back end of this statement,” McMenamin reported. “He did say that four teams have contacted him within the last 24 hours wanting to talk trades, but Rich didn’t have any substantiative conversations with those teams, either.

“Right now, LeBron is focused on playing on a championship-caliber roster. Rich told me there’s no guarantees on building a championship-caliber roster, but we know what it looks like and what it doesn’t look like. We’ll see if in a week from now, when Rob Pelinka’s finished doing his work with this roster, if it looks like a winning, realistic situation.”