Rich Paul Addresses Rumors About LeBron James' Future, NBA Franchise in Las Vegas

Over the past several years, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James’ name has consistently been in the discussion regarding the NBA's potential future team expansion in Las Vegas.

James has routinely made it known that he holds a significant interest in possibly becoming part of the ownership group in that scenario.

As the NBA appears closer to a decision on expanding to 32 teams, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus wrote this week that James and his agent, Rich Paul, may be lining themselves up toward ownership of a Las Vegas organization.

Pincus laid out that the four-time NBA champion would head into retirement, while Paul moved to sell his agency, United Talent Agency, to garner ownership stakes.

Rich Paul Reacts to Rumors About LeBron James, Owning NBA Team in Las Vegas

Rich Paul on the rumors him and LeBron are going to team up to own a Vegas expansion team:

“I don’t know Eric Pincus, but I appreciate him. He put me at a level I didn’t know I arrived too. I don’t know where that article came from… I don’t have enough money to buy a team… He… pic.twitter.com/nVVYnLUbNL
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) February 27, 2026

It didn’t take long for Paul to respond, as he voiced on the “Game Over” podcast on the Ringer that he and James don’t hold those lofty plans.

“I don’t know Eric Pincus, but I appreciate him,” Paul said of the rumor. "Because he put in a level I didn’t know I arrived to. Which is unbelievable. What I will say is, I haven’t talked to Eric Pincus, I don’t know where that article came from. There’s no truth or basis for it. I don’t know where any truth or merit comes to that.”

James' longtime agent and close friend went on to explain his situation and how an NBA franchise in Las Vegas would be too rich for his blood, predicting that an expansive team in that city would cost as much as the Lakers just sold for to Mark Walter.

“But what I will say is, to understand the importance of buying a team, one, I don’t have enough money to buy a team," Paul said. "So, I didn’t keep you in the dark; that’s No. 1. He may foresee something down the road, so I hope Eric is right. He may be a hell of a guy. … I think he mentioned Vegas, that’s not the team I would want to buy. Because there’s no upside. If you’re buying a team, that is a pretty big asset to have, and you want an opportunity for growth.

“I am gonna want a team where, the business side, I have the right partners, I am able to have the right ticket packages and things like that, I am going to have the right TV deal and so on and so forth. The Vegas team would cost $10 billion. I wouldn’t wanna pay $10 billion for a team. This notion that—obviously, LeBron and I are always going to be paired—but I’ve never had a conversation with LeBron about anything, let alone about buying a team.”

Paul is taking a broader approach to map out the financial means required to own an NBA team, but that doesn’t rule out the possibility that any ownership is out of the picture. It’s not necessarily a complete denial of that being the case, but rather that it currently isn’t the plans that at least Paul doesn’t have in mind.

Meanwhile, James hasn’t shied away from his interest in owning an NBA team in the future once he retires. That alone has made the link to a Las Vegas-based team the primary target of discussion when it comes to his future ownership.

It may just be a matter of time before this scenario for James and Paul comes to fruition once the NBA ventures the inevitable route of expansion.