The Lakers Are Wasting No Time Adding Fuel To The Fire When It Comes To The LeBron And Bronny James Experiment
The whole circus around Bronny/LeBron being teammates has my brain in a bit of a pickle.
On one hand, I despise every single aspect of the Lakers and will forever root for their demise, so this experiment potentially being a complete shit show would bring me a great amount of joy and entertainment.
On the other hand, I also think it's pretty cool that LeBron and his kid are going to make NBA history by sharing the court together at some point this season.
In my opinion the whole nepotism stuff from the Draft and then Bronny's eventual contract (which is really no different from other 2nd round picks tbh) was a bit overblown considering the 55th pick of the Draft is the exact time you take a swing for the fences on a prospect. Plus, if it kept LeBron happy and in LA then it's a no-brainer decision. I never really considered it that big a deal that Bronny wasn't NBA-ready right this second, because almost no 2nd round picks let alone late 2nd round picks are NBA-ready right from the jump. I say let the kid develop and we'll see where we are in a few years.
But here's the thing. Based on the quotes we got today from the Lakers' brass, we haven't even reached Game 1 of the preseason and you can already tell how insufferable this storyline is going to be all season long
In some ways, I'm starting to feel a little bad for Bronny?
At the end of the day, he's in the NBA and signed a contract that pays him millions as a 2nd round pick, but at the same time, the Lakers are not exactly helping him here. Knowing there was all that bullshit about nepotism and not earning his draft spot just 3 months ago, this all feels like a little much. Already talking about the moment they'll share the court together? Why should LeBron be involved in that decision at all? That's what JJ Redick is for! He's the head coach right? So if LeBron wants his kid to play in a certain game, that's it? Is it crazy to suggest that Bronny actually works his way into real NBA minutes? For example, if the Lakers had taken any other player 55th, would there be discussions on when that guy gets to play with LeBron? Of course not! And while I get that this is a unique situation, it all feels way more performative than something that's in the best interest of the Lakers. Maybe they decide to get this over with in a preseason game, but does that even count?
Not only that, but would we be getting stories of LeBron scoring and talking shit on the 55th pick in practice if it wasn't Bronny? Of course not! It all just comes off as a very unserious organization.
and I get it, this is the time of year to pander and to build excitement for the new season, but the Lakers have much more important things to focus on than Bronny practice moments or when he'll play in a game.
Again, the Lakers hater in me loves this, but I think we can all see ourselves getting tired of this circus rather quickly and training camp hasn't even opened yet.
I do think as Bronny gets more reps in the G-League and develops there's a serviceable NBA player in there somewhere. Maybe that's a 3&D type of player, maybe it's a role player, but he did show flashes at times this summer and on some level, you have to trust the genes as long as he puts in the work.
It just feels like given how we all know the Lakers are going to handle this experiment it's going to do more harm than good. Every miss, every turnover, and every missed defensive assignment is going to be like catnip for NBA Twitter and the talking head shows. We already saw it during the Summer League when Bronny struggled, and that was in games that literally don't even count. Can you imagine what's going to happen if JJ Redick plays Bronny because LeBron said so, and then in that game, their opponent goes on a massive run while Bronny struggles/makes mistakes and the Lakers lose? It's going to be a shit storm of the highest order. Not to mention how the other young players on the roster are going to feel about this whole thing.
So just prepare yourself. If this is what we're getting on September 25th before camp even opens, just imagine what the next 8 months are going to be like.