Lakers News: Rich Paul Discusses Media's Treatment Of Anthony Davis Injury History

"Street Clothes" is a heck of a nickname, but we see the point.

Klutch Sports founder and agent Rich Paul is working on a new memoir, tentatively titled "Lucky Me," and has recently been speaking to select reporters to promote the tome.

Paul represents six Lakers: Anthony Davis, LeBron James, Troy Brown Jr., Kendrick Nunn, Juan Toscano-Anderson, and two-way player Scotty Pippen Jr.

He sat with GQ's Sam Shube for an extensive conversation, which inevitably turned to some of his starrier clients in the NBA's ultimate glamor market.

Paul reflected on the media narrative that has developed of late surrounding Davis, which is that the All-NBA center is injury-prone. Plenty of players are injury-prone, but few get singled out like AD.

"Well, I think the first thing is, you’ve got to understand media," Paul noted. "And I think the media has the job. Some of it’s scripted, some of it’s based on analytics, some of it’s based on viewership. When you talk about these topics, you see a rise in the viewership. And so the media, as it pertains to any player, but [especially] AD, is going to kick you when you down. Over the last couple years, he’s had some really freak situations. Guy gets pushed into his knee. And then I think the one before that, or the year before that, was a hamstring or a groin, whatever it was. Those are the things that happen when you play the sport."

Davis has missed a scant three of his team's 26 games so far this season (during which L.A. has gone 1-2) due to lingering lower back pain and an illness. Though he remains a frequent injury report inclusion as a result of the back, he's certainly looked much better for the 11-15 Lakers recently than he did during the team's miserable 2-10 start. For the 2022-23 season, Davis is currently averaging a stellar 27.7 points on 59.6% shooting, 12.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 2.2 blocks, and 1.3 steals a night.

Over his prior three seasons with the team, the Brow missed an average of 29 regular season contests a year. This is certainly an issue, especially when it seems like he grimaces every other time he lands, but the flip side of it is that injuries can be managed, and should L.A. make some moves to bolster its frontcourt, as it has long threatened to do, that could help ease some of the big man's burden.