The Lakers Are Turning Bronny James Into A Work From Home G-League Player By Not Allowing Him To Play Road Games

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It isn't even Thanksgiving and I think I've reached the point where I officially feel bad for Bronny James. It's a bit of a weird feeling because I've spent every second of my life despising everything about the Lakers and doing nothing but praying on their downfall, but I can't help it at this point. 

“He’s only going to play in the South Bay Lakers’ home games. He’s only going to kind of be a part-time G League player, and he’s not getting on United Airlines to fly to these road games. I know he’s getting somewhat special treatment and nepotism. That’s fine; honestly, I don’t care. Like I said, it’s normal. Now, I think it’s actually detrimental to him. I don’t like that. I don’t know whose idea it was, but obviously, the Lakers are fine with it—they’re doing it. On this particular instance, I think that’s gone too far, and I don’t think it benefits Bronny. I don’t think it benefits the South Bay Lakers, and I don’t think it benefits LeBron at this point.

I had to double and triple check that tweet to make sure I wasn't getting NBACentel'd, but it is in fact real. If the whole Bronny/Lakers situation wasn't already a complete shitstorm, well there's no getting around it now. This is such an insane move I don't even understand the rationale behind it. Bronny James is an extremely raw basketball prospect. The whole point of him playing in the G-League is to get reps against live competition as a way to help further his development.

Knowing that, how on earth does it make any sense to only have him play home games? Why can't the Lakers just treat him like any other 55th pick? I get it, he's LeBron's kid and blah blah blah, but they already had that father/son moment. Now, things should be about turning Bronny into an actual NBA player and doing what's best for his development. 

Instead, they are deliberately and actively hurting his growth.

Who knows, maybe Bronny never figures it out and eventually flames out. But the Lakers are for some reason making things a million times harder than they have to be. Aside from the development aspect, what about the locker room? Why put Bronny in this position in the first place when you already know there's all that special treatment/nepotism bullshit surrounding him at every turn? Culture matters in NBA organizations, and how do we think everyone else on that G-League roster feels about this? They have to travel, they have to grind, but because Bronny is Bronny he doesn't have to go through the same shit? The Lakers as an organization are willingly putting Bronny in this impossible spot by being completely unserious.

Listen, I'm not going to thumb my nose at the WFH life. It fucking rules. Since I made the leap 5 years ago to blog full-time, it's been the best thing to ever happen to me. There's nothing better in my opinion. But I'm also not an NBA prospect whose job it is to play basketball, which unfortunately includes playing on the road. 

My question is this. When the team goes out for a road game, what does Bronny do? Just go to the facility to work out? Stay home and watch on TV? If the Lakers are playing at home, does he get called up just to sit on the bench? And this is suppose to help his development? 

How is any of that better than actually playing in real games against real competition? Bronny needs to play, he needs to make mistakes, and he needs to find a rhythm. The fact that the Lakers are legitimately sabotaging their own prospect for some unknown reason is easily one of the most bizarre things we've ever seen.

In some ways, it's fitting. This entire Bronny/Lakers situation has been bizarre since Draft Night, so why should things change now? I know I should love this as an extreme Lakers hater, but at this point, I just feel bad.