I don’t have enough money to buy a team

LA Lakers star LeBron James’ longtime agent and friend, Rich Paul, addressed the rumors about him potentially owning an NBA expansion franchise in Las Vegas.

According to Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus on Wednesday, there is chatter about James becoming the franchise star of the Las Vegas team. In addition, Paul would sell his sports agency, Klutch Sports, to help finance his ownership stake.

“There’s a rumor going around the league that he will be the face of the NBA’s expansion team in Las Vegas,” Pincus wrote. “One line of thinking is that he might retire, and his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, might sell the rest of his agency to UTA (United Talent Agency). With financial backing, they then might look to step into ownership roles.”

On Friday’s episode of his “Game Over” podcast with Max Kellerman, Paul responded to the rumors about the Las Vegas franchise, which he said could cost $10 billion.

“I don’t know Eric Pincus, but I appreciate him because he put me at a level I didn’t know I had arrived too,” Paul said. “I haven’t talked to Eric Pincus. I don’t know where that article came from. … I don’t have enough money to buy a team, that’s No. 1. But he may foresee something down the road so I hope Eric is right.”

Paul added that if he were to purchase a team, he would prioritize strong business upside and profitability:

“Thinking about buying a team, I think he mentioned Vegas, that’s not the team I’d wanna buy. … The Vegas team would cost $10B. I wouldn’t wanna pay that for a team. This notion that me and LeBron will be paired, I’ve never had a conversation with LeBron about anything, let alone about buying a team.”

In Pincus’ article, he speculated on the potential next moves of James, who is in his NBA-record 23rd season. The 22-time All-Star’s future has been much talked about every year, as there is speculation that he could soon announce his retirement. He is set to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2025-26 season.

The NBA is expected to decide on expansion this year

NBA commissioner Adam Silver first addressed the potential expansion of the league in December, when he said that a final decision would come this year. During the All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles nearly two weeks ago, Silver was once again asked about a potential expansion.

During a media availability on All-Star Saturday on Feb. 14, Silver acknowledged the rumors about the potential two-team expansion. He said that discussions might pick up next month during the Board of Governors meeting, while decisions would be made later this year.

“I’ve been very clear I don’t want to tease teams,” Silver said. “I don’t want to tease cities or mislead anyone. … I think the logical next move would be to say, ‘All right, we’ve had those discussions internally, we’ve made decisions about cities to focus on and what the opportunity is, and now we’ve got to go out into the marketplace.’

“I think that’s probably the most important step, to find out who is potentially interested in owning a franchise in particular cities, what’s the value of that franchise. There’s some work to do in terms of potential conference realignment. So that’s the next step there.”

Seattle and Las Vegas are widely considered to be the frontrunners to receive an NBA franchise. Silver has acknowledged that Seattle has a “great history with the league.” Silver also cited the league’s familiarity with Las Vegas, which hosts the Summer League and the latter stages of the NBA Cup.