"Incredibly lame behavior" - Lakers insider calls out LeBron James' agent Rich Paul for discrediting Chris Bosh as a part of Miami Heat 'Big Three'
Chris Bosh received defense when one Lakers insider took issue with comments made by Rich Paul, one of the most popular sports agents in the basketball world, about one of the best trios in NBA history. According to Paul, Chris Bosh wasn't the third star on the Miami Heat as people think he was.
Chris Bosh, whose career was abbreviated due to blood clots, was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2021 class and is remembered as one of the more talented power forwards of his era. Rich Paul, who has represented and followed LeBron James through his NBA career, spent much time in Miami with "The Heatles" as they formed one of the league's first "Big Threes."
Paul dove into the topic when he appeared on Tuesday's episode of The Pat McAfee Show, where he explained that, in his opinion, a trio of stars doesn't work as well in the NBA as a duo does. He brought up the fact that Bosh made sacrifices in order to fit in well on the Miami Heat.
"When you think about it, Bosh was the ultimate professional, he took a back seat and played a role," said Paul about Bosh's contributions to the team."
Bosh returned to the Miami Heat in 2010, together with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, as a "Big Three." Bosh was the team's third-leading scorer on a team that won back-to-back championships in 2011 and 2012 and played as a multi-faceted big man who played many different roles for the team.
Bosh is remembered fondly by Heat fans as one of the faces of the best team in franchise history.
Was Rich Paul simply calling out Chris Bosh, or does he have a point about star trios?
Rich Paul has been around the NBA world for more than 20 years, and while his comments could have been focused squarely on Chris Bosh, he brought up another example when talking about how a "Big Three" doesn't work in the NBA. He talked about the Celtics teams of the late 2000s and early 2010s built around, but not entirely about Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
Paul's points are sound when one looks at the league historically because the majority of the great teams in the history of the NBA have been built around a dynamic duo, like Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen or Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant. However, things begin to go awry when a third star is added into the mix that expects to handle a large workload.
The two teams that best fit Paul's argument are a bit more recent; this year's Phoenix Suns and the Kevin Durant-led Brooklyn Nets. Both teams featured three All-Star players on the team that, when they were on the court together, were excellent offensively. Unfortunately, injuries, poor chemistry and a lack of a supporting cast kept each team from having any real success together.
At the end of the day, Rich Paul might have used Chris Bosh's name as an example, but he was hinting at the strategy that reaps the most rewards when it comes to building a championship roster; forming a dynamic duo is often more effective than chasing a "Big Three".