LOS ANGELES — LeBron James cleared the air following the Lakers‘ 141-116 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, separating himself from the opinion of his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, who said that L.A. should trade fan favorite Austin Reaves.

“I think you all know by now, Rich is his own man and what Rich says is not a direct reflection of me and how I feel,” James told ESPN on his way out of Crypto.com Arena. “And I hope people know that. I hope people know that and if they’re not sensible to know that, then I don’t know what to tell them.”

Paul, on a recent episode of his podcast “Game Over with Max Kellerman and Rich Paul,” said the Lakers should swap Reaves to the Memphis Grizzlies for two-time All-Star big man Jaren Jackson Jr.

“If you’re building around Luka [Doncic] going forward, which they are, you need that anchor,” Paul said. “And Jaren doesn’t want to be a part of a rebuild.”

Paul presented a scenario in which the Lakers would offer expiring contracts and either their 2031 or 2032 first-round pick to target Jackson and 6-foot-9 Memphis forward GG Jackson as a developmental project. And then he added L.A. would trade Reaves as the centerpiece of the offer, before they would have to decide on offering him a five-year, $241 million max contract extension this summer.

“This comes with a very unemotional attachment because Austin is beloved, which he should be, he’s an underdog,” Paul said. “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. Now, I love him as a Laker, but if that was a situation where we’re getting balance — 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, then [building a full roster is challenging].”

Paul said Jaren Jackson Jr. would provide a 26-year-old center for the 26-year-old Doncic to pair with and also set up Reaves for success with his own team.

“Memphis would definitely pay Austin,” Paul said. “He would become … probably their point guard and leading scorer, for sure. … But definitely their highest-paid player.”

James told ESPN he did not consult with his longtime friend Paul about the decision to enter the media space and host the podcast before it launched last month.

“AR knows how I feel about him. All you got to do is look at us on the bench. Me and AR talk every single day. So, AR knows how I feel about him and I hope AR — or his camp — don’t look at me and think this is words from me are coming through Rich.”

LeBron James

“Rich, that’s what he’s doing,” James told ESPN. “That’s his whole thing. That’s what he’s doing. That’s what he’s talking about, but I have zero conversations about what his topics are going to be or what they are going to talk about. He is his own man and that is his platform.”

One of Reaves’ agents, Reggie Berry of AMR Agency, approached Paul on the sideline near half court at halftime of the Lakers-Hawks game Tuesday. The two spoke for more than five minutes and the topic of conversation was Paul’s public trade scenario regarding Reaves, sources told ESPN.

James said there was no fallout between him and Reaves, who is his longest-tenured teammate on the Lakers, after the podcast episode.

“AR knows how I feel about him,” James told ESPN. “All you got to do is look at us on the bench. Me and AR talk every single day. So, AR knows how I feel about him and I hope AR — or his camp — don’t look at me and think this is words from me are coming through Rich.

“Rich has his perspective of what he sees, I have my perspective. I’m a grown man, he’s a grown man and I think people should realize that grown men can say whatever the f— they want to say and it shouldn’t reflect somebody else is saying it.”

It’s not the first controversial take Paul has shared about the Lakers this season. In December, around the time L.A. lost to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals, Paul said on the podcast that the Lakers were “not championship contenders.”

James responded by saying, “I can’t think about what we can do in the playoffs in December. … Talking about what type of damage we can do in the postseason in December, that’s not right for the basketball gods.”

Though some interpreted that take by Paul as using the podcast as a call to urgency to put public pressure on the Lakers’ front office to make moves and ultimately serve his marquee client in James, he has shared other opinions on the podcast that seemingly remove his agent association with a player from his viewpoint. For instance, he said that the Milwaukee Bucks should insist on getting back Jalen Johnson in any trade discussions with Atlanta about Giannis Antetokounmpo — but acknowledged Johnson, his client, wouldn’t want that.

Paul also shared that he would rather have Michael Jordan take the last shot in a game over James.

Before James spoke about Paul’s podcast, he played one of his finest games of the season. He scored 31 points on 12-for-20 shooting with 10 assists and 9 rebounds, and played on the second night of a back-to-back for the first time this season after sitting out the first month of the Lakers’ campaign because of sciatica affecting his lower back and down his right leg.

Lakers coach JJ Redick went out of his way to defend the 41-year-old James in his postgame remarks.

“I don’t take for granted the LeBron stuff,” Redick said. “It’s actually unfortunate how much this guy puts into it and how much he cares and the way certain people talk about him. It’s crazy. Come be around him every day and see how much this guy cares. It’s off the charts.”

Not long after, James defended Paul’s podcast venture.

“It’s his prerogative,” James told ESPN.

Editor’s note: We updated these predictions to include a ninth open job after the Steelers and Mike Tomlin parted ways.

It’s the middle of January, and nine NFL teams are looking for new head coaches. That’s more than 25% of the league. There’s a worthwhile debate about the healthiness of that model, but that’s not what we’re doing here. We’re trying to predict who will land those nine jobs, which is really hard to do at this point. Though I understand fans’ eagerness to find out who will be coaching their favorite teams, it’s important to remember how early we still are in this process.

For example, assistant coaches for teams that played in wild-card playoff games Saturday or Sunday weren’t even allowed to conduct virtual interviews for head coach jobs until Tuesday. If a team wants to interview, say, 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, Rams coordinators Mike LaFleur and Chris Shula, or Bills offensive coordinator Joe Brady, they haven’t been able to until just now. Saleh is preparing for a game Saturday against the Seahawks on a short week, all while multiple teams have requested permission to interview him for their head coach position. Assistant coaches for teams that played in Monday night’s wild-card game can’t do virtual head coach interviews until Wednesday. So, if a front office is looking to talk to Texans defensive coordinator Matt Burke or Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith, it hasn’t been able to do that, either.

Finally, are we sure there will be only nine openings? For example, Matt LaFleur and the Packers are discussing an extension, but that doesn’t mean he will get one. It wouldn’t be unprecedented to see a team or two move on from its head coach this late in the game — just as Pittsburgh did on Tuesday.

All of that said, predictions are fun, so here are my still-too-early head coach landing spot predictions that are sure to be wrong. They tell me I can come back and update this next week if I want. I’ll likely take them up on that.

Jump to an opening:
ARI | ATL | BAL | CLE
LV | MIA | NYG | PIT | TEN

Former coach: Jonathan Gannon, fired last week after three seasons and a 15-36 record

My prediction for the next Cardinals coach: Klint Kubiak, Seahawks offensive coordinator

Arizona’s situation will be a tough sell for the more established candidates, especially because the Cardinals will likely move on from quarterback Kyler Murray. Would the Cards love to get John Harbaugh? Of course. But he will probably find other opportunities more appealing. Arizona needs to be thinking about finding a young star head coach to compete in a division in which Mike Macdonald, Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay each just won at least 12 games and are all still alive in the playoffs. Maybe Kubiak has that potential.

Three years ago, Arizona waited out the Eagles’ Super Bowl run and hired Gannon, who was Philly’s defensive coordinator at the time. If Seattle makes a run to the Super Bowl, the pattern could be repeated with Kubiak. Seattle’s offense ranked eighth in yards (351.4) and offensive points scored (25.3) per game this season.

Other known candidates: Vance Joseph, Robert Saleh, Matt Nagy, Thomas Brown, Jeff Hafley

Former coach: Raheem Morris, fired last week after two seasons and a 16-18 record

My prediction for the next Falcons coach: John Harbaugh, former Ravens head coach

Falcons team owner Arthur Blank will be willing to spend what it takes to get the top coach available. The Falcons are also looking for a new GM, and that could be appealing to Harbaugh, as he could have some say regarding who gets the role (though the Falcons just hired former QB Matt Ryan as president of football, and he’ll obviously have plenty of say in both decisions).

The question for Harbaugh, or any candidate, is what he thinks of the QB situation in Atlanta. Michael Penix Jr. will be in his third season and coming off a major knee injury, and Kirk Cousins is still hanging around. If a coach thinks they can make that work, Atlanta has a lot to offer.

Other known candidates: Kevin Stefanski, Anthony Weaver, Klint Kubiak, Mike McDaniel, Aden Durde, Ejiro Evero, Jeff Hafley

Former coach: John Harbaugh, fired last week after 18 seasons, a 180-113 regular-season record, a 13-11 playoff record and a Super Bowl title

My prediction for the next Ravens coach: Kevin Stefanski, former Browns head coach

The Ravens know Stefanski from having played against his Browns teams for the past six years (Baltimore was 8-4 against Stefanski-coached Cleveland teams), and Stefanski is a popular candidate on this circuit. He’s a mid-Atlantic, East Coast guy who would fit in a place like here or New York. Having Lamar Jackson and a winning culture in place makes Baltimore the most appealing landing spot among the current openings. Stefanski had 13 different starting QBs in Cleveland, but he would get a true franchise passer in Jackson in Baltimore.

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Other known candidates: Brian Flores, Mike McDaniel, Robert Saleh, Klint Kubiak, Anthony Weaver, Matt Nagy, Vance Joseph, Davis Webb, Joe Brady

Former coach: Kevin Stefanski, fired last week after six seasons, a 45-56 regular-season record and a 1-2 playoff record

My prediction for the next Browns coach: Mike McDaniel, former Dolphins head coach

All of the intel we have on this one says the Browns are looking for an offensive-minded head coach who won’t mind keeping Jim Schwartz as the defensive coordinator. (That makes me wonder why they don’t give the head coach job to Schwartz, an outcome I believe is also possible here.)

Cleveland’s perpetually challenging quarterback situation could make this job a tough sell, but McDaniel is quirky, creative and confident. And he had success in a challenging QB situation during his first two seasons in Miami. It’s not tough to imagine the Browns’ front office wanting to tap into McDaniels’ ideas about how to design and run an offense.

Other known candidates: John Harbaugh, Todd Monken, Jim Schwartz, Tommy Rees, Dan Pitcher, Nate Scheelhaase, Grant Udinski

Former coach: Pete Carroll, fired last week after one season and a 3-14 record

My prediction for the next Raiders coach: Robert Saleh, former Jets coach and current 49ers defensive coordinator

Saleh has been on Las Vegas’ short list in the past, and his work in San Francisco this season has caught a lot of people’s attention around the league. His Jets tenure didn’t go great, but that’s true of most people who coach there. It doesn’t sound like teams will let his Jets tenure deter them from talking to him this time around.

Whoever gets this job must have a plan for offensive coordinator and the development of a young quarterback, likely Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza. But Saleh is part of that Shanahan/McVay network and should have no trouble putting together an offensive staff. The Raiders were last in the NFL with 14.1 offensive points per game and 245.2 yards per game this season.

Other known candidates: Vance Joseph, Davis Webb, Matt Nagy, Klint Kubiak, Mike LaFleur, Kevin Stefanski, Ejiro Evero

Former coach: Mike McDaniel, fired last week after four seasons, a 35-33 regular-season record and an 0-2 playoff record

My prediction for the next Dolphins coach: Chris Shula, Rams defensive coordinator

Too good, right? Don Shula’s grandson coaching Don’s old team? Going into this process, I felt very strongly that Shula would get a head coaching opportunity. The Shula/Miami connection is too good to pass up. But the Dolphins’ job just opened, and it’s too early to know the eventual top candidates. Shula is well-regarded around the league, and there always seems to be at least one McVay assistant who gets a head coach job.

Other known candidates: John Harbaugh, Kevin Stefanski, Klint Kubiak, Robert Saleh

Former coach: Brian Daboll, fired in November after 3½ seasons, a 20-40-1 regular-season record and a 1-1 playoff record. Offensive coordinator Mike Kafka finished the season as the interim head coach and went 2-5.

My prediction for the next Giants coach: Jeff Hafley, Packers defensive coordinator

Hafley has been high on the Giants’ list for a while, according to what I’ve been told. I think New York will try very hard to get Harbaugh or Stefanski, and the Giants might land one of them. But I placed those guys elsewhere, and I had to make a pick for the Giants based on the rest of the pool.

Hafley has college head coach experience from Boston College, and his work with the Green Bay defense has earned him a lot of attention from NFL teams looking for a head coach. The Giants’ defense allowed 5.8 yards per play this season, tied for 26th. Hafley’s Packers were at 5.0, tied for eighth best.

Other known candidates: John Harbaugh, Kevin Stefanski, Mike Kafka, Steve Spagnuolo, Lou Anarumo, Antonio Pierce, Mike McCarthy, Raheem Morris, Vance Joseph

Former coach: Mike Tomlin, who parted ways with the team Tuesday after 19 seasons, a 193-114-2 regular-season record, an 8-12 playoff record, two Super Bowl appearances and a Super Bowl title

My prediction for the next Steelers coach: Jesse Minter, Chargers defensive coordinator

To the extent that they have a “type” — it’s tough to say since they’ve had only three head coaches since 1969 — the Steelers tend to go young. Tomlin was 34 when they hired him, as was Bill Cowher. Chuck Noll was 38. So Minter, 42, might not exactly fit the mold, but hey, it’s possible 42 is the new 34.

Pittsburgh is proud of the infrequency with which it makes changes at this position, so it will be looking for someone it believes can be there for a very long time. Minter is of the Harbaugh tree, having worked under Jim Harbaugh and Mike Macdonald at the University of Michigan before following Harbaugh to the Chargers, and he is viewed as a top head coach prospect by several teams around the league.

Other potential candidates: If the Steelers want to go a little off the board, watch out for Broncos QBs coach Davis Webb, who turns 31 next week and is getting attention from several teams for offensive coordinator and even head coach interviews. Chris Shula, who turns 40 in February, is another name you’re likely to hear connected with this opening, as is 38-year-old Kubiak.

Former coach: Brian Callahan, fired in October after nearly 1½ seasons and a 4-19 record. Mike McCoy finished the season as the interim head coach and went 2-9.

My prediction for the next Titans coach: Matt Nagy, Chiefs offensive coordinator

This was the first name that got floated as a possibility when Callahan was fired, likely because of Titans GM Mike Borgonzi’s connections to Nagy from his time in the Kansas City front office. Nagy is a former Bears head coach who’s on his second stint with the Chiefs and helped develop Patrick Mahomes during his first one. Tennessee will be looking for a good offensive head coach to steward the next stage of Cam Ward‘s development, and Nagy did win a division title in his first year in Chicago.

I think Tennessee casts a wide net, and popular candidates such as Harbaugh, Stefanski and Joseph become strong candidates here, as well. Ward is that well-regarded.

Other known candidates: Kevin Stefanski, Mike McDaniel, Raheem Morris, Kliff Kingsbury, Vance Joseph, Lou Anarumo, Steve Spagnuolo, Jason Garrett, Robert Saleh, Mike McCarthy, Chris Shula, Jeff Hafley