Rashad McCants Suggests Gilbert Arenas Is on Klutch Sports’ Payroll to Spread Positive LeBron James Narratives

Rashad McCants just co-signed on a bold accusation against his Gil’s Arena co-host, Gilbert Arenas. The three-time NBA All-Star is well-known for backing LeBron James in all-time conversations. However, Arenas’ LBJ arguments have prompted some grave claims because of their passionate nature.

An NBA fan page recently suggested that the KLUTCH Sports Group, the representatives of LeBron James, had Agent Zero on their payroll to promote positive narratives about The King. All this stemmed from a recent discussion on Gil’s Arena.

During a segment on the show, Arenas declared that star players leaving their franchises to chase Championships was just part of the game. To substantiate his point, he even pointed to examples like Pau Gasol, who left the Grizzlies to win back-to-back titles with Kobe Bryant’s Lakers.

McCants didn’t agree with this perspective. He insisted that these moves should have serious repercussions on players’ legacies. He argued that legends like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Isiah Thomas never had to team up with rivals to win titles.

Neither of them was willing to back down during the debate. What happened next, only escalated the tension between them.

An NBA fan page on X accused Arenas of publicly defending James’ legacy for monetary compensation. “Is Klutch Sports paying Gilbert Arenas to try to change the NEGATIVE narratives surrounding LeBron James?” the fan page asked in the caption after sharing a clip of the debate.

Just as these allegations stirred up NBA fans, McCants added fuel to the fire. He quote-tweeted the post, saying, ” everybody gets it!!”

James and Arenas go a long way back. Agent Zero has even trained LBJ’s sons, Bronny and Bryce. Their lives became even more intertwined when Bryce was called in for the 2024 USA men’s basketball U17 national team camp with Arenas’ son, Alijah.

It is no secret that legacy discussions have hurt James‘ public image heavily in the past. His frequent moves between franchises left many skeptical about his leadership. So, his friend’s attempt to normalize these moves expectedly raised a few eyebrows.

Arenas has persistently defended James’ actions throughout his career. For instance, on the Above the Rim podcast, he recently declared that the 20x All-Star has kept Jordan relevant to this day.

“They will never bring up Michael Jordan because he’s not real today. He’s real like we know who he is but the only people who bring him up is when LeBron James’ name gets mentioned. That’s the only reason Michael Jordan’s relevant.”

His close connection with Rich Paul, the founder of KLUTCH Sports, remained another source of such speculations. When Paul appeared on Gil’s Arena almost a year ago he endorsed James as the greatest ever.

“I just think LeBron’s antlers is in platinum and Michael Jordan’s may be in gold. Why? Because he had to be compared to Mike. Who did Mike have to be compared to?”

These instances added volume to the latest accusations. But McCants’ remarks is not a good look for Arenas’ credibility as an analyst.

Fans will also be willing to see how this will impact the dynamic in Gil’s Arena.