Rich Paul dreaming up fake Lakers trades is not helping their increasingly gloomy reality

Fake trades are a ubiquitous part of the modern sports media landscape, but they usually don't come from the most powerful agent in the league. That changed Monday when Rich Paul, CEO of Klutch Sports and LeBron James' agent, went on his podcast and suggested that the Los Angeles Lakers trade budding star Austin Reaves to the Memphis Grizzlies for Jaren Jackson Jr. 

Here is the full conversation between Paul and Max Kellerman on their show, "Game Over": 

Paul: If I was the Lakers, I would probably be targeting the Memphis Grizzlies as a trade partner for Jaren Jackson. 

Kellerman: Yeah, that would be a great fit. For whom?

Paul: Well, that's the thing, because you have to figure out the package. Some way, somehow, I would be trying to get Jaren Jackson, maybe get back GG Jackson -- Jackson and Jackson associates -- because he's a young player that you can develop, got good size, can shoot the ball. But I think if you're building around Luka [Dončić] going forward -- which they are -- you need that anchor. And Jaren doesn't want to be a part of a rebuild. [The Grizzlies] just put Ja Morant on the market, saying that they're willing to trade him. So I think that would be a trade partner. Now, the package that goes out is what you have to decide. Because if you're able to trade out expirings and give up the last first-round pick you've got, that could be one scenario. Or, you could say, let me withhold that --

Kellerman: Austin Reaves.

Paul: This comes with a very unemotional attachment because Austin is beloved, which he should be. He's an underdog

Kellerman: But he's about to get paid. 

Paul: Here's the thing. There's a world where you can do what's best for your team and do what's best for Austin. Because Austin deserves to get paid. I love him as a Laker, but if that is a situation where we get imbalanced. Because if you put all the money into just the backcourt, and then your flexibility is restricted going forward to fill out the rest of the team, that's kind of like when you used to have your training wheels on your bike, but one training wheel is off and it kinda leans. That's kinda like that. That's one aspect of it. But if you can keep Austin, have Jaren some kind of way, have Luka, they're gonna take up most of your money. 

Kellerman: But harder to flesh out the roster.

Paul: I don't get into whole the discount for any player. I don't know what Austin's value may be to the Lakers or anybody else. He's gonna get paid a lot of money. He's earned that and he deserves that. If you can maintain that some kind of way, that gives you a balance. 

Kellerman: It's hard in the NBA with the [salary cap] aprons to have redundancy. 

Paul: It's very hard.

Kellerman: If you have redundancy on your team, that usually means there's a weakness somewhere else. You're better off using the resources where you're redundant to address. Austin Reaves, on ball, can score really well, can do all these things. They have a guy like that already -- who doesn't play any defense -- so you need someone to balance out the defense at another position.

Paul: But Austin would get his money. Memphis would definitely pay Austin. He would become their point guard, leading scorer, yes. He would probably be their point guard for now, but definitely be their highest-paid player. Regardless of how it goes, whatever the package may be, [Jackson] would be my target for the Lakers. Now, if you're doing that, and I have [Dončić and Jackson] to start from. And I know everybody wants this to be LeBron's last year. Hopefully it's not LeBron's last year. Whatever that looks like going forward, that's yet to be seen. But if you have [Dončić and Jackson] on your board and now I'm looking at how to fill in the rest of the blanks, that's a good starting point. That doesn't guarantee you a championship tomorrow, but it gives you some building blocks. It definitely gives you some building blocks. When you look at Jaren Jackson, he can shoot the 3. 

Kellerman: And the age is right. 

Paul: [Dončić and Jackson] were in the same draft. 

A deal centered around Reaves for Jackson is not an absurd idea. The Lakers are one of the worst defensive teams in the league (117.1 defensive rating, which ranks 26th) and need a big man for the future. There is some redundancy between Dončić and Reaves as backcourt creators, while Jackson is one of the most versatile frontcourt defenders in the league. It's unlikely the Lakers would make that swap given that Reaves is in the midst of a breakout campaign and Jackson has been somewhat disappointing this season, but it's an interesting thought experiment. 

In any case, it's not the message, it's the messenger. Paul is one of the most powerful off-court figures in the league, reps Reaves' legendary teammate (who carries plenty of weight himself) and has previously suggested on another episode of his podcast that Reaves should shift to a bench role, à la Manu Ginobili. 

Even if Paul doesn't have control over the Lakers' personnel moves, his repeated comments are going to become a distraction -- especially considering how James' return impacted Reaves' role prior to Reaves' calf injury, which has kept him sidelined since Christmas. It's also worth noting that during his discussion with Kellerman, Paul used "we" to to describe the Lakers: "Austin deserves to get paid. I love him as a Laker, but if that is a situation where we get imbalanced." 

It's not surprising that Lakers beat reporter Jovan Buha reported after the Lakers' loss to the Sacramento Kings on Monday that Paul's podcast is causing frustration inside the organization. 

"Can confirm that people have not been happy," Buha said on his YouTube show. "I'm not gonna go more specific than that. But I would just say people have not been happy with that pod and some of the comments."

Reaves is expected to opt out of the final year of his contract this summer in order to become an unrestricted free agent, but has repeatedly made it clear that he wants to remain with the Lakers. "I want to be in L.A. for my whole career and hopefully we can make that happen," Reaves said during media day in September. 

Sam Amick of The Athletic also reported earlier this month that the team has no interest in moving Reaves. "They love Austin and honestly, like Jeanie Buss is still the governor…and I bring that up because Jeanie Buss is the captain of the Austin Reaves fan club. And then Rob Pelinka is a huge fan as well," Amick said on Run It Back. "All signs point to them finding a way to pay Austin that massive amount that's coming his way this summer."

The Lakers, who have lost three games in a row and are 8-10 since their 15-4 start, have plenty of their own issues. Reaves is still sidelined, they can't stop anyone, JJ Redick is having an existential crisis about their offense and they've sunk to fifth place in the Western Conference. 

The last thing anyone in Los Angeles needs right now is LeBron's agent disgruntling their second-leading scorer by putting him in fake trades on his podcast.