Lakers Rumors on Rich Paul's Austin Reaves Trade Suggestion, Backlash to Podcast Comments

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the midst of a three-game losing streak, and it sounds like more problems are brewing off the court as well.

Lakers star LeBron James' agent Rich Paul caused a stir when he declared on his podcast that he would trade rising star guard Austin Reaves to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for big man Jaren Jackson Jr.

"If I was the Lakers, I would be targeting the Memphis Grizzlies as a trade partner for Jaren Jackson… If you're building around Luka, you need that anchor," Paul said (h/t HoopsHype). "Jaren doesn't want to be a part of a rebuild… if you're able to trade out expirings and trade the last first you got, or you can withhold and give up less, but this comes with a more unemotional attachment because Austin is beloved. There's a world where you can do what's best for your team, and what's best for Austin. Austin deserves to get paid… Memphis would definitely pay Austin. He would become their leading scorer and PG."

The Athletic's Jovan Buha revealed that Paul's comments have ruffled some feathers.

"I can confirm that people have not been happy, and I'm not gonna go more specific than that, but people have not been happy with that pod and some of the comments," Buha said.

Buha went on to explain that Reaves is a better overall player and a more valuable trade piece than Jackson, who has declined slightly after dealing with injuries in recent years. While the Lakers have been plagued by defensive struggles, they would need more than just plugging in Jackson to halt those woes.

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Also, there's a chance that Paul's comments could lead to some tension in the locker room, as Buha noted that this isn't a typical situation for a team to deal with.

"That is uncommon for an agent to be commenting on his player's team to this degree and saying basically, 'I would trade this guy," Buha said.

The Lakers (23-14) will be back in action in the second night of a back-to-back as they try to end their skid on Tuesday against the Atlanta Hawks (20-21).