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Olden Polynice on Rich Paul saying Kobe Bryant would have supported LeBron James’ decision to join Philly: “This goes out to Rich Paul. I have nothing but respect for you as far as how what you’ve accomplished and how you got there. You worked your butt off. But you need to shut the fu*k up with that statement because that is the most asinine thing. Number one, we don’t know. You shouldn’t bring up Kobe in any way, shape, or form that he would know what you know, LeBron, you know, the decision LeBron made. That’s some bullsh*t, Okay. This is clickbait all over again. That’s like me walking up and slapping somebody and going, Malcolm X would have understood it. I don’t know what the hell Malcolm X would understand. And so to me, don’t do that. That’s so disrespectful.”
NBA Courtside: Rich Paul says if you criticize LeBron for ring chasing after joining the 76ers, it says more about you: “Because what else are you supposed to do, right? The man is playing on minimum contract, he wants to win.” (Via Game Over)
NBA Courtside: Rich Paul says it must be in the algorithm of social media to talk bad about LeBron gets you clicks: “I think somewhere in the algorithm somebody said ‘hey if you speak negatively about LeBron, people want to pay attention to you.’ I think that somewhere is in the manual of social media” (Via Game Over)
NBA Courtside: Rich Paul on why LeBron didn’t choose the Spurs: “It’s similar to the Knicks these are two teams that finished last two teams in the season. Spurs were the runner up. And when you have a guy like Wemby you have to respect his growth, his position on the Spurs. It’s not easy LeBron James shows up it just doesn’t matter who you are.” (Via Game Over)
James can never be 6-for-6 in the Finals like Jordan -- that was out the window after losing in his first Finals trip in 2007 -- but if he fulfills his two-year, $8 million contract with Philadelphia, he'll have played 25 years in the league. A full 10 more than Jordan, a staple of longevity that Jordan's legacy can never touch. And who knows if it stops there. "I think Philadelphia's going to energize him," Paul told ESPN. "Maybe we get two [seasons]. Maybe we get four."
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NBA Courtside: Rich Paul says LeBron WASN’T even considering the 76ers before the Jaylen Brown trade: “We never heard from the Sixers because the Sixers never really thought it was even a chance and I talked about why. We talked about other things, obviously I talk to Tyrese all the time. No never even thought it was a chance. We started having conversations about just basketball in its self, how things can play out what it actually takes to win where you know, not to get into everything but there was several conversations and as you know all these decisions are layered.”
WHAT STARTED WITH James' longtime friend and agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, having conversations with 27 teams, as he told ESPN, and then whittling them to a final five -- the 76ers, Cavaliers, Miami Heat, Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves -- ended with the veteran with the ball in his hands looking for the last shot to cap an already Hall of Fame career.
Heat Central: Rich Paul calls out people who claim LeBron James stacks his teams to ring chase throughout his career 👀 “It’s confusing because what are you supposed to chase? Aluminum cans? I don’t think he chases anything I just think you want to put yourself in the best competitive position to have a chance of winning. It’s very confusing when you see players talk about ring chasing. Especially players who don’t have a ring. — I just don’t understand how people get up everyday and try to nitpick at you for trying to put yourself in the best position”
Appearing alongside James' agent Rich Paul on the Game Over podcast, ESPN insider Shams Charania revealed that Cavaliers executives and members of the Gilbert family met with the four-time NBA champion in Akron in early July. "Now you tell me, Rich, if I'm right or wrong," Charania said. "Was it the Cavaliers' front office group – Koby Altman, Brandon Weems, the Gilbert family and Grant Gilbert – meeting with LeBron in Akron in early July? Is that the loaf of bread you're talking about?" Paul appeared stunned that Charania knew about the meeting. "Early July? Wait a minute. How did you know about that?" Paul responded.
Another host then asked whether Paul believed the meeting had escaped Charania's attention. "I thought it got by Shams because he never said anything to me about that," Paul said. "Nobody knew about that. It didn't get out anywhere. Nobody knew about that."
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NBA Courtside: Rich Paul shuts down the narrative that signing LeBron comes with a lot of demands: “The things that perceive is so far from the truth. One of those things is like, okay. I think someone said, “Oh if you sign LeBron comes with all this, he doesn’t come with anything.” He comes with himself…. But again I think people have this idea that he’s asking for all these things. We were not raised like that just first and foremost. We were not raised like that. We were actually raised the opposite way don’t ask nobody for anything if you can’t get it yourself. Second part of that is, one thing he does ask for is to be in position to win and if being in position to win is a negative ask then what are you in teams sports in that case? Like I just don’t understand that you can’t have it both ways.” (Via Game Over)
Shams Charania: "Jaylen Brown was 100% supportive of this move of getting LeBron James. To my knowledge, those two guys didn't speak during the process, but Jaylen Brown did have communication with Rich Paul during the process to let Rich Paul know that, 'Hey, I want LeBron here. This is someone I want to play with.' And so, those guys will eventually have their own conversation, LeBron and Jaylen will, and get on the same page. There will be plenty of opportunity for them to do so. But I think the big thing that I hear around the Sixers organization right now is sacrifice. When you think about scoring, you look at Jaylen Brown, Tyrese Maxey, on any given night, 1A, 1B. Joel Embiid is right up there as well, 1A, 1B, 1C. Either of those guys can lead this team in scoring on any given night. VJ Edgecombe can be a breakout on any given night. And then you look at LeBron James, and in a lot of ways, he's setting the table for everyone."
Paul told The Athletic he had been trying to get Myers to come on the podcast for months; the invitation was not specifically tied to addressing James’ free agency. The 76ers, team sources said, had thought about the potential downside of Myers’ pitch being viewed as groveling publicly. But the upside of Myers — and his four rings from Golden State — speaking directly to Paul outweighed the potential minuses.