Half a year into the Lakers’ $10 billion sale, an ESPN report is putting the organization’s power dynamics under scrutiny. The report claims that, instead of new owner Mark Walter or Governor Jeanie Buss, the power was split with LeBron James and his agent, Rich Paul. The Klutch Sports founder isn’t buying the narrative.
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As much as the NBA community hates that Rich Paul has a podcast, he uses it well to set the record straight. He’s already denied running the Lakers in an older episode. But what’s one more time?
In a blunt dismissal of claims about his alleged “overt control” of the franchise, Paul questioned the report’s validity and the motives behind it on Game Over. “There’s an article written every day. Who gives a s—. I don’t,” He said.
ESPN’s Baxter Holmes reported on January 21 that Buss “privately grumbled” about “what she felt was James’ outsized ego and the overt control that he and Klutch Sports” exerted over the Lakers at times.
Rich Paul full response on the Jeanie Buss article involving LeBron and Klutch Sports power 🚨
“There’s an article written every day. Who gives a sh*t. I don’t. You don’t know what’s true what’s not true. I seen some stuff that came out and obviously they talked about different… pic.twitter.com/LX2fR3TSA0
— Heat Central (@HeatCulture13) January 21, 2026
Paul countered, “You don’t know what’s true, what’s not true. I seen some stuff that came out, and obviously, they talked about different scenarios in terms of the power we may have. All I know is this: There’s an appreciation for guys like Michael Irvin, our legends. There damn sure should be appreciation for a guy like LeBron.”
He’s referring to Dallas Cowboys legend Michael Irvin, who was also seen as exerting control over the team. Paul expects the same respect a franchise legend commands for LeBron James. But doesn’t believe that it equates to control.
“What I know is from the time we got in L.A., we’ve been treated great. There was a championship won. We played Rummikub in the bubble, had lunch every day,” Paul noted. “When people see things going well, they try to poke holes and try to manipulate relationships… there’s going to be some type of annoyance at some point, that’s part of it. The last seven or eight years, it was great. You won. There’s nothing to talk about there.”
In the end, he claims the report will not alter the dynamic LeBron has with the team. And it matches Jeanie Buss’ thoughts, too.
Jeanie Buss expresses regret over ESPN report
The ESPN report painted a picture of a relationship that soured behind the scenes, claiming that Buss considered trading James to the Clippers in 2022. Among other things, the report also alleged that Jeanie Buss felt Bron should’ve been grateful that the team drafted Bronny in 2024.
However, Jeanie Buss moved quickly to distance the Lakers’ star from the internal noise. Speaking to The Athletic, Buss issued a rare public defense of James.
“It’s really not right, given all the great things LeBron has done for the Lakers, that he has to be pulled into my family drama,” Buss told the publication. “To say that it wasn’t appreciated is just not true and completely unfair to him.”
The family drama references Jeanie’s rift with her five siblings. While she spearheaded the $10 billion sale to Mark Walters, her youngest brothers, Joey and Jesse, were against it. They were abruptly let go in late 2025.
She seems to imply that LeBron James is being scapegoated in the Buss family drama.
The narrative picked up with the arrival of Luka Doncic, who WME represents. Without Anthony Davis in the fold, too (there are three Lakers players besides Bron under KlutchSports), it indicated a decentralization of power that Paul allegedly had on the Lakers.
Yet all the parties involved call the claims in the ESPN report a fabrication, even though Rich Paul’s and Jeanie Buss’ responses raised more questions.