Rich Paul: Lakers' LeBron James Would 'Just Be Karl Malone' Without His Athleticism

Powerful agent Rich Paul believes Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James would still be an all-time great even if you took away his supreme athleticism.

During an interview on SiriusXM NBA Radio, Paul spoke about James' impressive longevity and didn't rule out the 19-time All-Star playing until his mid-40s.

"He's one guy that I'm not going to say no about," Paul said. "I think it's important to understand what really motivates him. ... As long as his mind is there, as long as he's still excited about playing the game—in addition to the health—absolutely. I always tease him, I say, 'If you're athleticism went away, you'd just be Karl Malone. It's fine.'"

Malone is the third-highest scorer in NBA history, but there wasn't a lot of flash to his game. The Utah Jazz legend wore down and out-muscled his opponents. He and John Stockton also formed what might have been the most devastating two-man game ever with their steady flow of pick-and-rolls.

Over his final eight seasons, Malone shot 45.2 percent between 16 feet and the three-point arc, per Basketball Reference, with Stockton regularly feeding him passes.

James hasn't been that consistent from mid-range (38.6 percent), but his general growth as a shooter leads one to believe he could've matched Malone's efficiency if that's what his skill set required.

LeBron hit 29 percent of his three-pointers as a rookie, and his form was generally a bit of a mess.

Over time, he refined his shooting motion and eventually morphed into a 40.6 percent three-point shooter with the Miami Heat in 2012-13.

That's to say nothing of James' on-court intelligence. It's certainly fun to think about a less explosive version of the 38-year-old firing no-look passes and fooling his defenders like the stereotypical old guy at the YMCA.

Maybe we'll get to see it if he decides to stick around in the NBA for another four or five seasons.