Rich Paul claps back at narrative that LeBron James needed Miami Heat

Rich Paul, the agent for Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and founder of Klutch Sports Group, is not a fan of the narrative that James needed the Miami Heat. Paul and James are close friends, and Paul spoke about the narrative on Gil’s Arena with former NBA player Gilbert Arenas. The narrative of – ‘OK, he went to Miami, they made him this way,’” Paul said. “What? Now, what did help was infrastructure, consistency, professionalism – which LeBron’s always had – that’s no question about that. But I’m saying overall, from a culture perspective, right?” James left the Cleveland Cavaliers – the team that drafted him in the 2003 NBA Draft – to join the Miami Heat in free agency ahead of the 2010-11 season. In Miami, he teamed up with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form a Big 3, but Paul doesn’t believe it was just James that was needing someone to team up with. “To create this narrative of, he needed somebody and they – you know?” Paul said. “No, it’s a shared need. ‘Because if I don’t go there, what are you talking about?’”