The looming trade deadline has intensified scrutiny on the Los Angeles Lakers’ locker room. But this time the spark came from LeBron James’ inner circle. His agent, Rich Paul, gave a hot take on the Austin Reaves situation, complicating it even more. Despite his subsequent attempts to defuse it, the way the drama was handled irks one NBA legend, who claims nothing should’ve happened in the first place.

Reggie Miller was on the Dan Patrick Show recently. But instead of hyping the Lakers, he got brutally honest about Paul’s unique situation as an agent.

“You have to have had this conversation with your client, LeBron James. Correct?” Patrick asked Miller.

The Indiana Pacers legend agreed, saying, “Absolutely, yes, you have.”

Miller argues that Paul’s comments were not hypothetical.

“LeBron has come out and said all the right things, that [Rich] doesn’t speak for me,” Miller said. “But look, they’re boys. That’s his agent. They’ve had this conversation before.”

The Pacers legend, like many fans, strongly believed that “if you’re Rich Paul, you can’t do it. You can’t say that.”

To recap, Paul recently suggested that the Lakers should trade Reaves for Jaren Jackson Jr. All parties named in the hypothetical idea rejected the proposal within hours. Reaves’ agent even reportedly confronted Paul about it. At least it looked like that.

It might seem too late for Patrick to bring this up, especially after Paul claimed that his sideline chat with Reaves’ agent wasn’t as confrontational as reported.

But head coach JJ Redick has revealed that Reaves will return “sooner than later” after another “exposure” to full-contact basketball. That makes Patrick’s line of questioning well-timed. Paul’s comments spun a larger narrative on social media, and if Miller is to be believed, it has affected the Lakers star’s return to the team.

Rich Paul may have struck a nerve with his Austin Reaves idea

While he’s a fan of LeBron James, Reggie Miller interestingly didn’t miss the veteran when it was the Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves show earlier in the season. But most of the fanbase was looking forward to Reaves’ return from a calf injury.

Paul believes the Lakers could benefit from a defensive anchor like Jackson Jr. Apart from the Grizzlies and Jackson himself laughing off that trade idea, Lakers fans didn’t really like it. Not only are they attached to Reaves, but they also felt that Paul undermined James’ appreciation for his young teammate.

It’s bad enough that Paul is podcasting on the business he’s directly involved in, which has spun the “Shadow GM” and “LeGM” narratives on social media.

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James already said, “I think you all know by now, Rich is his own man and what Rich says is not a direct reflection of me and how I feel.”

But Miller didn’t believe it.

“If I’m AR and I’m looking at LeBron like, ‘Really? This is how you think of me?'” Miller said and opined that it could have played a larger role. “So, I’m sure he’s taking his time coming back, too, knowing what he said.”

Miller’s prediction may have come true because Reaves and Adou Thiero are ruled out for tomorrow. The former’s return is not set in stone during the Lakers’ eight-game road trip.