The most popular sports agent in the NBA is coming down on the Los Angeles Lakers — and this is LeBron James's agent and close friend. Is this abnormal? No, Rich Paul has not been shy in the past about going through the media to hint at what the Lakers might need and how they can be better.
This time, though, Paul's latest remarks are a little different only in that he brought up the team that LeBron won two championships with, the Miami Heat. Of course, those Heat championship days are a decade old now (although they have made NBA Finals trips twice in the last five seasons.
But with the Lakers claiming the second-best, or at the very least, third-best team in the Western Conference at this point in the season, the trio of James, Luka Doncic, and Austin Reaves is likely giving most Lakers fans one of two things: a fool's gold feeling or a championship contender feeling. Paul appears to be floating in the first category, and he pulled the Heat into his feelings.
Rich Paul continues to prod Rob Pelinka and the Lakers front office
Despite December's awful start for the Heat, they're otherwise having a solid season and were one of the best surprises in the NBA, especially in the Eastern Conference. Are they burning with championship metal this year? It's highly unlikely. That said, they're doing much better than most expected, and that has to inject some level of confidence in Miami's locker room.
Paul isn't referring to this season's Heat, but to the team that went to four straight NBA finals and won back-to-back championships between 2010 and 2014. Since then, LeBron has won a title with the Lakers, but they have come up short in contention since that bubble trip to sunny Orlando, Florida. This season, however, the current team appears the closest the Lakers have been since then.
Paul isn't buying it, though, it would appear, and he recently made some comments comparing the Heat with LeBron to today's Lakers, also with LeBron. His mention of Pat Riley could be seen as a shot at Lakers GM Rob Pelinka.
“Pat Riley had a championship mindset,” Paul said, sitting across from former ESPN personality Max Kellerman. “So the foundation, right? It don’t matter how upset you may be. It don’t matter. We’re doing this thing this way… I would say if there was room to grow for the Lakers, it would be in that department. Yes, we are the Lakers, and let’s establish this culture. We’ve got 17 championships. Let’s establish this culture of being a championship organization and having these pillars.”
It sure sounds like a shot at Pelinka. Now, Pelinka has certainly had his misteps over the years, but he's also done some very good things. Is it fair to label the Lakers' current front office as lacking a championship mindset? That may seem like going too far. Pelinka did give up Anthony Davis for Luka, remember.
In Miami, ever since Riley arrived, change and culture have been immediate points of focus. Everyone knows "Heat culture", and everyone knows not every NBA player can cut it. What Paul has absolutely right is that the Heat have, without question, a championship mindset. They did during their LeBron-era runs, and you could argue they still do today, and the last several years.
Riley carries that mindset like a gene — it's sewn into his DNA, and he expects everyone under his name and title to replicate it. Erik Spoelstra certainly has that gene in him also, and despite what he's had to work with, especially last season and this season, he has done an outstanding job.
Paul was speaking of a different Heat era when he made his comments. Today's Heat squad is the one that matters, and they have an open window in the East that they did not have last year. Again, it's not a championship window, but it is a make some noise in the playoffs window, provided they can get back on track and continue to do the unexpected.