Agent Rich Paul: Lakers not trading LeBron James

And one report said the Los Angeles Lakers were looking into it. Yes, it said the Lakers might trade the NBA’s brightest star, and even at the age of 39, their greatest shot at winning.

But social media often doesn’t reflect real life.

“LeBron won’t be traded, and we aren’t asking to be,” agent Rich Paul said, via Brian Windhorst of ESPN.

The Lakers (25-25) have fallen short in a lot of areas, but trading a staring All-Star who draws in eyeballs would be a horrible idea, and they know at least that much. Nor would they likely get equal value in return.

Granted, James can become a free agent after the season if he so desires, but his family is in LA. He’s a big family man. He has zero reason to leave.

Instead, what James and Paul are hoping is that the Lakers can build a championship contender around him. They’re far from it right now. But they’re not dumb enough to send James to some far-off place.

James is averaging 24.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.7 assists and 1.3 steals, shooting 52.0% from the field, 39.7% on 3-pointers and 72.6% on free throws. He is the NBA’s oldest active player.