Should Rich Paul Have Podcast? NBA Veterans Chime In On Hot Debate

Rich Paul has received criticism from former NBA players for starting his own podcast.

Should Rich Paul Have Podcast? NBA Veterans Chime In On Hot Debate

Rich Paul (Image credits - Firstsportz)

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LeBron James‘ longtime friend and agent, Rich Paul, is under some criticism from the NBA community for starting his own podcast. The super agent has made some statements that have not gone down well with others. With several current and former NBA players having their own podcasts, it feels like the athlete-podcaster landscape has reached saturation. Hence, Paul’s new podcast seemed like a good idea at first.

American podcaster and sports writer Bill Simmons announced last month that The Ringer, his sports and culture media company, would launch a new show called “Game Over” hosted by super agent Rich Paul and former ESPN analyst Max Kellerman.

It was an unexpected pairing but what was more unexpected was Simmons and Paul joining hands, considering these two were not on good terms and engaged in some back-and-forth public criticism spanning more than a decade.

After his exit from the ESPN network where he featured on First Take with Stephen A. Smith, Kellerman had been off the radar. Paul and Kellerman have caught several eyeballs for their show and the different topics they cover. They have even spoken about the Los Angeles Lakers with Paul going as far as to say that his client, James’ team, are not championship contenders this season.

But the show has rubbed some of the former NBA players the wrong way, especially when Paul spoke about trading Lakers star Austin Reaves for a defensive player like Jaren Jackson Jr. His statements led to James being questioned as well. Former NBA star Austin Rivers was unhappy with Paul’s new show and asked for Paul to stop before it gets out of hand.

He’s gotta stop. First off why do you have a podcast anyway? I don’t understand it I don’t get it. You’re not a fu*king player I don’t know any other agents sitting there on a podcast talking trades. Plus everything you say is going to be a representation of Lebron.

According to Rivers, having a podcast and talking about the Lakers is a conflict of interest that can complicate things for James and his teammates in the locker room. He is the agent for the NBA’s most popular athlete, and some of his thoughts reflect on James, which is a distraction.

Former NBA player joins Austin Rivers in Rich Paul’s criticism

Former number one pick, Kenyon Martin, was in the headlines not so long ago for his social media beef with Golden State Warriors star, Draymond Green. Now, Martin joined Rivers in being critical of Paul’s new show, again highlighting how James’ agent can discuss the Lakers so openly.

Martin said it’s crazy that Rich Paul would go on his own podcast and openly say the Lakers aren’t contenders on the Gil’s Arena podcast.

LeBron James and Rich Paul (via Page Six)
LeBron James (Left) and Rich Paul (Right) have been together since 2003 (via Page Six)

When is it cool for agents to speak in this manner? For agents to come out in this manner, like, I’ve never heard; I’ve been around this game for a while. When you speak up for your guy, your player, I understand that. ‘They ain’t good enough.’ You got guys on the team, what type of s–t is that? This is an interesting thing going on, you’re an active NBA agent, what you be commenting on other people and s–t.

Paul represents several stars in the NBA, along with James, such as Tyrese Maxey, Zach LaVine, De’Aaron Fox, Anthony Davis, and more. Some may see Paul’s statements as a conflict of interest while there are some who appreciate his unfiltered honesty and see no problem with what Paul is doing.

Bill Simmons on sabotaging the Los Angeles Lakers

The idea of “Game Over” was to provide the audience with something unique, considering there are so many player podcasts out there. Simmons is a well-known lifelong Boston Celtics fan, and it is also well-known that the Celtics and Lakers share the most storied rivalry in the NBA. According to Simmons, he doesn’t see anything wrong with the NBA agent having a podcast, as even players have their own podcasts.

Bill says it’s just an unintentional coincidence.

As much as I despise the Lakers, I would never use a ‘Ringer’ podcast to try to bring them down. That feels like bad karma, feels like something bad would happen with the Celtics. I couldn’t be more delighted that the Ringer is involved. If it’s caused trauma for Lakers fans and disarray behind the scenes, I can’t say that was the intention, but it’s a pure delight to me as a Celtic fan to just watch this happen.

It does not appear that “Game Over” is going to stop anytime soon. All the controversies and noise surrounding the show will only lead to larger audiences. And at the end of the day, if players can have their own podcast, then so should NBA agents.

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