The Los Angeles Lakers may be 17–7 and playing their best basketball of the season, but the loudest doubts about their title chances aren’t coming from opponents; they’re coming from inside LeBron James’ own circle. His agent, Rich Paul, publicly questioned whether the Lakers are “good enough to be contenders” this year, sparking criticism from talk-show host Jim Rome and forcing LeBron into the spotlight to address the team’s playoff expectations.

And just hours after Paul’s comments went viral, the Lakers suffered a damaging 132–119 loss to the Spurs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, further fueling the debate.

The setback arrived at a time when things in Los Angeles had been looking better than they had in a long time. The Purple and Gold are fourth in the Western Conference with a decent 17-7 record, and with Doncic becoming the face of the franchise and Austin Reaves also having an All-Star level season. All of this while LeBron James continues to put up great numbers in his 23rd season in the NBA.

Doncic is leading the league at 35.0 points per game while adding roughly 9 assists and 9 rebounds, and Reaves is averaging 27.8 points and 6.7 assists, top 10 in scoring and top 15 in dimes, which is exactly the statistical profile you expect from an All-Star backcourt. That loss only intensified the conversation around the Lakers’ ceiling, especially in light of Rich Paul’s public skepticism about the roster.

However, all is not rosy for the Lakers, as on Wednesday, talk-show host Jim Rome called out LeBron James‘ agent, Rich Paul, for calling the Lakers not real contenders for the Western Conference finals this season in the Game Over podcast recently. Jim believes that Paul is doing LeBron’s bidding, and unless the King himself shares his views on the team, everything said by his agent will be assumed as his thoughts.

Rome’s monologue quickly made the rounds on social media, with the segment clipped on YouTube under the title “NBA Agent Rich Paul DISSES Lakers On New Podcast” and shared across X and Reddit as fans debated whether Klutch was undercutting the team’s own public messaging.

“It is Rich Paul’s take that the Lakers are not real contenders, and he would know, right? After all, he is LeBron’s agent,” Jim Rome said on his show. “So you also have to assume that it’s not just Rich Paul’s take, but it is also Team LeBron’s take. And if it’s Team LeBron’s take, say to assume that it’s a bad take.”

He quickly clarifies that the King should intervene and share his thoughts, stopping people from making wrong assumptions. “By the way, LeGoat, if it’s not your take, if I’m out of line saying that, if it’s not your take, then you might wanna check with your agent. Because he’s going on a pod and saying it in broad daylight. You might wanna make it clear to everyone that your agent doesn’t speak for you or through you.”

Rich Paul’s views on the Lakers not being the best this season have garnered a lot of headlines.  “I personally don’t think the Lakers are good enough to be contenders right now. I don’t think they have enough to get to the WCF,” Paul said in the podcast.

It also isn’t the first time Paul’s public comments have created tension—back in 2019, Paul’s statement that Anthony Davis wanted out of New Orleans resulted in a $50,000 NBA fine and months of franchise-level fallout, showing how seriously the league takes it when Klutch speaks for a superstar.

On the pod, Paul pointed straight back to last year’s playoff exit, saying the Lakers “ran into athleticism and length” and struggled to keep up. Looking at this roster, he questioned whether they have enough athleticism, length, shooting and speed to play fast in a postseason setting, warning that their current style “is going to be very easy to guard when you get to the playoffs.”

This is not just a throwaway analysis on the Lakers, as they have given up everything to build this roster, and they do have the players to scale the heights. With Doncic averaging 35.0 points and 9.1 assists, and Reeves accompanying him with a breakthrough season, means the Lakers are well and truly contending for the championship. However, there are gaps in the roster while injuries have taken a massive toll and barred the fans from watching peak LeBron in this setup.

Amidst a lot of trade rumors and uncertainties arising from Rich Paul’s podcast, LeBron James isn’t giving up on the Lakers so easily, more so after the defeat against the Spurs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals.

LeBron James not ready to give up on Lakers’ playoff dreams

The Lakers on Wednesday simply couldn’t keep up with the Spurs, and that reflected on the court as Mitch Johnson’s team played with more tenacity, coupled with efficient shooting.

Despite the loss against a shorthanded San Antonio Spurs roster, LeBron James isn’t ready to give up on the Playoffs based on this performance. The postseason is still months away, and a lot can happen in between, which can change the fortune of the Lakers.

LeBron shut down any talk of playoff ceilings, saying he can’t think about what the Lakers might do in the postseason in December and stressing that it’s “not right for the basketball gods” to project their playoff “damage” this early, with his focus instead on building habits over the regular season.

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“What I can say you is that the habits that we build throughout the regular season, each month. If we are in a position to make it to the postseason, then we have to build it now. But talking about what type of damage we can do in the postseason in December, that’s not right for basketball and not for me.”

Like other teams, the Lakers also have their issues and can do with a little improvement in the roster, as they were too predictable against the Spurs. So the trade window could be an opportunity for the front office to make a few tweaks and build on that foundation.

Those issues are showing up clearly in the numbers: despite a top-10 offense, the Lakers sit just 21st in defensive efficiency and dead last in bench scoring at 24.2 points per game, and their reserves were outscored 48–31 by San Antonio even on a night when Marcus Smart poured in 26 off the bench.

Whether LeBron’s leadership and any roster tweaks can steady the Lakers will determine how quickly this blows over or whether Rich Paul’s warning becomes the storyline that follows L.A. into the spring.