Skip Bayless said he believes LeBron James’ agent Rich Paul is sending mixed messages about his right foot injury.
On Tuesday, the “Undisputed” host got into a heated debate with his co-host Shannon Sharpe while discussing the specifics of James’ injury and reports that say the Lakers star will miss several weeks with the injury.
Bayless first took issue with James remaining in Sunday’s eventual win over the Mavericks after he was heard saying, “I heard it pop” when he came down on his right foot while attempting a layup in the third quarter.
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“Why is it when someone says something is wrong with LeBron James you either say it’s not that serious or he’s lying?” Sharpe, asked before accusing Bayless of not holding Tom Brady to same standard during his NFL career.
“But you’ve never called into question when Tom Brady said anything,” said Sharpe, who recalled Bayless believing the severity of Brady’s knee surgery he underwent in the offseason after winning a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers in 2021.
“Wait a second, are you calling Tom Brady a liar?” Bayless asked, to which Sharpe replied: “If you’re calling LeBron James a liar about his injury, I am absolutely calling Tom Brady a liar about his.”
That’s when Bayless began pressing Sharpe for intel on James’ injury and brought up their close friendship.
“What exactly is his injury, Mr. Sharpe?” Bayless asked. “You’re close, you’re in the inner circle. I need to know what the injury is. They won’t even say what the injury is. It’s another mysterious LeBron injury.”
Bayless continued and said that teams must fully disclose a players’ injury out of transparency, especially with someone like James as the face of the franchise.
“When does full disclosure tell you, I have to exactly tell you what the injury is? Since when is that a thing?” Sharpe asked.
“It’s always been a thing since I first started in this business,” Bayless said. “… It’s called the injury report.”
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Sharpe then brought up two separate reports from The Athletic’s Shams Charania and ESPN’s Arian Wojnarowski about James missing significant time.
“Where do you think those reports came from?” Bayless asked before shutting down Sharpe’s theory that they came from the Lakers.
“It comes from Rich Paul,” Bayless said about James’ agent. “Let’s be honest. Let’s do full disclosure. Let’s be transparent. It comes from Rich Paul. He sets everyone of these narratives.”
Sharpe is a known supporter and friend of James, whom he often defends against Bayless during their fiery debates on “Undisputed.” James also defended Sharpe after the Hall of Fame tight end feuded with Grizzlies players during a Jan. 20 game.
Meanwhile, Bayless has been one of James’ toughest critics for years.
On Monday, Bayless questioned the validity of James’ injury in a tweet that read: “Please explain how LeBron said he ‘heard a pop’ when he went down yesterday – yet continued playing, scored 11 more pts, DHam said afterward LBJ is ‘good’ … and now Shams reports he could miss ‘extended time’??? Why & how did he continue playing w/o a limp if it was this bad???”
After the Lakers came back from a 27-point deficit to defeat the Mavericks, 111-108, on Sunday, head coach Darvin Ham said James was “good” when asked about the injury.
James was later seen limping while leaving American Airlines Center in Dallas.
Although Ham said the Lakers medical staff evaluated James on Sunday and Monday, the full extent of his injury is unclear. The Lakers and James have yet to address the reports about him missing an extended period of time.
The Lakers have already ruled out James for Tuesday’s game at Memphis with what they called right foot soreness.
Wojnarowski reported that James will have his injury reassessed in two weeks and a timeline on his return is expected to go beyond that check-in date.
Additionally, Charania reported Tuesday that James initially hurt his right foot in January and decided to keep playing through the injury to make a late playoff push.
If Lakers big man Anthony Davis can stay healthy, the new-look Lakers have a better roster to withstand an extended James absence. They also have the easiest schedule remaining schedule in the NBA.
The Lakers are sitting in the 12th in the West with a 29-32 record. They are 2 1/2 games out of sixth place.
This article was originally published at the New York Post and was republished with permission.