Bronny James drafted by Lakers
 

Young man did not exactly light it up in college, I think he averaged 4 points a game. Motive to draft him seems transparent enough, but if he clearly isn't NBA caliber are they really going to cut him?

Bronny was a poor player on a terrible team that went 8-12 in the Pac 12 and 15-18 overall. He averaged under 5 points, under 3 rebounds, and just over 2 assists in 19 minutes per game.

If I were Lebron's teammates, I'd be pissed.

I'd be more pissed when they give him a roster spot. Not sure JJ Reddick is going to be on board with that if it happens.

As a life-long Laker fan, I'm not happy with the Lakers drafting Bronny James.

I agree, he did not light it up on the court. Take away the James name, and we could all agree, he wouldn't have been drafted, and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

He had a sudden cardiac arrest and was born with an unspecified structural heart abnormality that put him at a higher-than-average risk of cardiac arrest. Another reason for concern.

If LeBron had much to do with Bronny being drafted by the Lakers, as a father, he did his son no favors. He did no favors for the Lakers either.

Just another situation that will cause problems for the Lakers.

Not sure if it matters if Reddick is on board with a roster spot or not, if James wants him on the team thinking that`s final. Now if James pushes the matter even further, I E actual playing time, then you might hear a LITTLE push back from Reddick and possibly some players. My 2 cents

I think it's pretty set in stone that he will make the team and see minutes, at least initially. There would be no other reason to draft him. If they were only looking to pacify Lebron with giving him a shot to make the team, they could have signed him as a free agent and invited him to camp.

Jeanie must be under LeBron's spell or something. This cannot be a good basketball move, even if it was the only way LeBron was going to stay put.

The youngster's resemblance to his dad is really striking.

https://www.cnn.com/2024/06/27/sport...aft/index.html

When LeBron is 47 he can go down to the G league and they can be teammates

I'm a Lebron fan but Michael Jordan never would've done that. Just saying

Wanna "bet".... Too soon?

Michael Jordan decided he would play AA baseball at 30 years old just because he felt like it. I'm not sure this is something he wouldn't have felt like doing if it were plausible for him.

The only reason the Lakers drafted Bronny is because LeBron wants him as a teammate.

James
 

Yeah, this is low even by NBA standards. What a farce! Trent King

The spin being imparted by Pelinka and Anthony Davis is hysterical.

Here is Pelnka. Doth protest too much?

Pelinka reassured James that he was selected on his own merits.

“I think first and foremost, you’ve worked incredibly hard, man. You put in a ton of work,” Pelinka told Bronny. “And, you know, we had lunch up at the facility for your workout. We talked about your work ethic, and that means a lot to us. I think second to that, you know, you’re a player of high character and personal high character, and that is valued at the Lakers. And so, it’s important for Coach [JJ] Redick and I let you know what those qualities really stand out and so the Lakers are gonna draft you with the 55th pick in the draft.”

I feel sorry for the kid. My understanding is that he has shown potential at the high school level but his college career was derailed at the outset by some now resolved health issues. He could really stand another year in college ball to develop and showcase what he can do. But I suspect that he was pressured by his father to enter the draft so they could play together.

The attention that will come with being Lebron's son will be bad enough, but (should it come to pass) taking up an NBA roster spot will only heighten that scrutiny and will undoubtedly get ugly if he fails to deliver. What is done is done, but I hope that the Lakers give him some time in the G League to develop. Though I doubt it.

Speaking of which, did you hear the NBA is going to change the league logo from the old Jerry West to one featuring Lebron?

Attachment 626550

LeBron opted out of his contract but is expected to sign a new deal with the Lakers. After they drafted his son, it would be hard to imagine him going somewhere else.

If he takes a pay cut to free up resources for the team, he can partially make up for the fact that he basically forced them to draft his son. If he demands more money as a 39 year old, its not going to look good.

I think drafting his son has made it clear the Lakers are happy to give him whatever he wants.

hes terrible

I can't remember a more selfish person in the NBA.

Self-centered and self-entitled too!

You can thank society for that, how did folks not see this would be the end result.

It's bleeding over to people that are mediocre at best in their everyday lives.

I digress...

Bronny James plans to sign a multiyear guaranteed rookie contract with the Los Angeles Lakers, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. The No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft starts his NBA career on the Lakers roster.

Lakers and LeBron James reportedly agree to new 2-year $104 maximum deal, includes no trade clause. Crazy!

Not a good look.

Guy is 39 and forces a max. contract on them and for his son too?

But I guess we shouldn't have expected anything else from him.

It's clear he would not have gotten drafted if he wasn't LeBron's kid, but I don't see the big deal. The Bucks employ Giannis's brother to keep him happy, and he's not in the GOAT discussion. The Lakers got their championship out of LeBron already and are only concerned about money, which a father-son duo like this will bring in.

I don't really see the big deal either. The Mariners signed Ken Griffey Sr. after he was released by the Reds so he could play 51 games with the biggest prospect on earth at the time. Nobody really had any strong opinions about it.

The Orioles traded for Tim Raines Sr. so he could play 4 games with his son in 2001 too. Again, I don't remember any strong feelings about it.

A lot of players drafted in the second round never make a team either. I don't see the wasted draft pick angle considering he was picked almost last.

Apparently he signed for 2 years and $101.35 million so a little below the max deal he could have received. Apparently this somehow helps the Lakers avoid a luxury tax threshold. I don't understand enough about the NBA salary cap and all the ways around it to really know how much it helps.

Feels different trading for an aging star (or in the case of Raines, HOFer) player, than drafting a kid who scored 4 points a game in a half year of college and pretty obviously had no business being drafted at all.

I think there's a difference between MLB nostalgia moves like this and what is clearly a manipulated move to appease Lebron, but to his credit he has been honest about his intention. It smacks of intense Narcissism to me compared to your examples.

Pelinka should be ashamed of the disingenuous nonsense he is spouting. LeBron would seem to have him and Jeannie Buss enthralled -- or intimidated.

The new NBA logo (to replace Jerry West) looks more like a lymphoma in LeBron’s neck than a beard.

No wait, I think that’s Bronny hiding behind his daddy.

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Are there two new logos?

They drafted him for an aging star. I think it's just as hard for people to truly explain their beef as it is for me to understand it. Why does anyone have a beef with the Lakers appeasing Lebron? He won them a championship and is the greatest player of his generation. Who else do you make these kinds of considerations for if not Lebron? The Lakers had 6 guys spend time on the roster last season who played under 100 minutes on the season, five of which made less than 10 total shots. I don't see Bronny taking up space anymore than those players did.

Did any of those 6 guys have a fully guaranteed 4-year/$7.9 million contract? Since players drafted in the second round don't usually have a significant impact on a team, it's one thing to use a pick to make LeBron happy since he will probably contribute about the same as anyone else they would have selected instead. Giving that much money to him is what I find moe appalling.

I feel like the money is actually a pay cut for him though. He made 5.9 million last year in NIL money.

That's not the point. The guaranteed money they're giving hom is money the Lakers can't use to pay other players that might be more helpful to the team.

Sure but that same logic could be applied to signing Lebron at all, an aging superstar whose best years are behind him.

I think the Lakers have made it clear they're prioritizing marketing Lebron and marketing the NBA's first and maybe only father / son duo over signing a different anonymous bench player in Bronny's place.

Can't say I disagree with that strategy. It makes them the most money.

It's just an insult to the team and the whole sport to draft one substandard player, put him on the roster, and pay him millions to "appease" another. No matter who he is.

LeBron was 13th in the league scoring 25.7 ppg and 5th in assists with 8.3 so he still seems to be contributing pretty well to his team. If his son is going to maybe play a few minutes a game, is that really going to make the Lakers any real extra money, and if he shows he shouldn't be on the court, he's either going to sit or keep playing and bring more negative publicity than the Lakers would probably want.

Home attendance has been dropping since 2020:

2019/2020: 18,997 average
2021/2022: 18,649 average
2022/2023: 18,613 average

We're in the hobby, my friend. What do you think the odds are the first home game where the world gets to see the first father / son duo in NBA history sells out? How many jerseys are going to be sold that day? How many Topps Now cards will be printed? Do you think there will be a bigger game on earth that night once the networks sink their teeth in?

The sports world will be watching the Lakers all year long. That kind of attention wasn't being paid last year when it was just Lebron out there.

I also think it's fair to conclude that Lebron was not interested in playing at all if the Lakers weren't going to draft his son. I don't know what your opinion of the rest of the team is, but without Lebron who is anyone there to see?

So what you're saying is LeBron essentially blackmailed them. Draft my son play him and pay him or I'm outta here and fuck you. Seems pretty distasteful.

If LeBron's wife wanted to be an assistant coach, say -- heck, between LeBron and Bronny she likely knows a thing or two about the sport herself -- would that be cool too?

He's been considering retirement since at least 2023 per news articles at the time. I don't think it was "Bronny or F-you". I think it was if you draft Bronny I'm more inclined to continue my career at all. I don't think he has a clause in his contract that says if you cut Bronny I'll retire. At least I haven't heard anyone say that. So, I don't know why it bugs anyone that the 12th man is Bronny for what could potentially be a short career, at least to start. Who got mad that Alex Fudge made it into 4 games last year and scored a point?

Jeez, much ado about nothing. They basically gave the kid the money they were going to give Lebron anyways.

Kid is a project. He was a highly ranked prospect coming out of High School and suffered a Health Crisis his 1st year in college.

NBA teams draft "projects" all the time. Especially in the 2nd round, but also very often in the first. Of the 60 or so players taken in the draft, only a handful are going to become true impact players.

There's been Top 10 guys who have barely sniffed the floor.

He'll be at the end of the bench taking up garbage minutes or down in the G League getting seasoning. If he's not ready to even warm the end of the bench or they need roster flexibility for some reason, you can bet your ass he'll be in the G League.

If he does play in the NBA...at 2 Mill a year, he'll likely take the place of a much more expensive 4th or 5th year veteran sitting at the end of the bench eating up garbage minutes.

He's not Lebron, he'll never be Lebron. He doesn't have the size, and he hasn't shown to be any sort of an offensive juggernaut. Most scouts see him as more of a defensive spark-plug in the future. His ceiling is as a Patrick Beverley type. Which if that's the case, it will be money well spent if he's even close to that. If not, they basically got him for free to try him out.

I cannot imagine LeBron James retiring while he is still capable of playing at a competitive level and he still is. My belief is he would have gone elsewhere, to a team with championship aspirations, had the team not acceded to his demands. So in that sense I guess it's admirable that he put his son above himself, because the Lakers aren't going anywhere I can't imagine. And yes in the scheme of things I guess it won't change anything, just seems over the line to me from a player who has redrawn the landscape already.

Sucks to be the guy who would have an NBA roster spot if there was a meritocracy but now won't. But that's how it works, one needs a rich daddy or luck or actual talent to make it in America, pick any 1.


"Nothing is given. Everything is earned"* - Lebron James, 2014.


*Unless your daddy is Lebron James, in which case a roster spot will be given to you regardless of how clearly undeserving you are.

For completeness, their 2023/24 home attendance was 18,903 so pretty much back to where it was a few years ago. During the last few years, their record was also a lot worse before getting up to 47-35 this season. Winning usually helps bring people out, I would think more than the possibility of LeBron playing 2 minutes with his son, especially after it's happened once. LeBron wasn't retiring if they didn't draft his son, not after the year he just had. Maybe they sell a few jerseys more, but his son would probably benefit more from actually playing in the G league than sitting on the bench and getting occasional minutes.