Rich Paul Withdraws Support From LeBron James’ Impending Dream After Adam Silver’s Crushing Update

While LeBron James’ idea of owning a team already looked bleak, the superstar’s agent-best friend, Rich Paul, backed out. After making a strong case for the ‘GOAT’ tag of the league, King James has a long-pending dream. It’s a dream to own an NBA franchise, especially for Las Vegas. Moreover, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar’s hazy dream took a huge blow after Adam Silver made the latest update on the league’s expansion.

Firstly, let’s take a look at Rich Paul’s opinion on NBA players owning a franchise. The 42-year-old agent definitely isn’t a fan of it. Speaking to Gilbert Arenas in his podcast, Paul said, “You got to crawl before you walk,” while he addressed the recent trend in players wanting to invest in teams. Moreover, he also went on to state his reason for disbelieving in the idea.

Paul agreed that the players get the “great feeling” of owning a team but at the same time, he revealed the drawback. He argued that the players should be allowed “to have access to the deal flow of the actual owners of the team” and invest alongside the owner’s portfolio. He further said, “Do I want to invest in a team that’s being sold already at a premium? That’s not helping me compound my wealth” 

And, finally, Paul threw a spade at the owners, saying that the teams don’t make any money. Instead, he said the investment makes the money for the owners. Moreover, finishing up his statement, Paul concluded he “didn’t really love the aspect” when the players don’t get the deal flow of the owner alongside the ownership ‘tag’ of the franchise.

With this statement, Rich Paul has clearly indicated that he had deviated from LeBron James‘ idea of owning a franchise. Additionally, Shaquille O’Neal, who has also expressed his wish to own a franchise, might have to rethink his decisions.

What was Adam Silver’s crushing update?

The league’s expansion has been on the cards for a long time now. Adam Silver evaded the question of expansion for a long time, reasoning the media rights deal. While the league is inching closer to announcing their massive deal, Silver made the latest update ahead of Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

Speaking to the press, he said, “It’s not preordained that we will expand at this time, but I know there’s an enormous amount of interest out there.” He also revealed that plenty of wealthy investors have shown interest in the expansion. However, he dropped the hammer on LeBron James with a closing statement.

The NBA Commissioner said, “At some point, we’d like to look outside the United States. In addition to Canada. This may not be the right moment to do that, but I’m thinking long-term as well.” While the league already has a team from Canada, the Toronto Raptors, it looks to expand further to other countries. The update not only postponed James’ impending dream but also took away Las Vegas from the options.

Will LeBron James still pursue his dream even after Rich Paul’s advice? Let us know in the comments below.

Before you go, do not forget to check out Shaquille O’Neal’s ex-agent, Leonard Armato, to open up about the infamous Shaq-Kobe feud. Keep checking this space for more such updates.