Bronny James drafted by Lakers

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by packs

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.

[packs]

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.

[jayshum]

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.

[packs]

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?

[Peter_Spaeth]

Originally Posted by packs

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?

[packs]

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?

[D. Bergin]

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.

[Peter_Spaeth]

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.

[jayshum]

Originally Posted by packs

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?

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.

[Casey2296]

Originally Posted by packs

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?

I would posit people are more interested in watching Caitlin Clark drain 3's from the paint than will ever care to watch Brony play ball.

[vintagerookies51]

I'm not in LeBron's camp or anything, but I find it highly unlikely that he was making any "demands" saying draft Bronny or I'll leave. People say similar things about the JJ Reddick hire even though LeBron publicly endorsed another coach first.

This was simply a classy move by the Lakers in their mutually beneficial relationship with LeBron. Not that they were title contenders anyways, but the effect one player signing for a few million will have on their chances is very slim. The attention and money this will bring the Lakers far outweighs the downsides.

People so upset about this "nepotism" in the NBA need to have the same energy when it comes to politics, business, etc. Hell, the whole Lakers organization is run by a bunch of unqualified nepo babies! The story of LeBron, who was holding this kid as a toddler in the NBA finals so many years ago, is now playing on the same team as that kid, especially after his heart problems last year, is amazing in my opinion. Those who can't see one positive side to this must be miserable.

[Beercan collector]

I’m not upset about any of it I find it entertaining .
If someone says he’s gonna play one day I’ll probably watch it .
His playing in the NBA will be as humorous as Yoko singing with Chuck Berry ,
And they both got there the same way

[doug.goodman]

Originally Posted by packs

Home attendance has been dropping since 2020:

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

Those differences could be attributed to numerous things including comps to the rich and famous in LA, or maybe they increased the area of a bar selling overpriced drinks or a shop selling overpriced merch, either of which might be grossing more than the now "unsold" ticket would have generated.

But even if it actually is dropping the 36 ticket drop between 22 & 23 is certainly not a number that caused an emergency meeting in the sales department.

[packs]

Originally Posted by doug.goodman

Those differences could be attributed to numerous things including comps to the rich and famous in LA, or maybe they increased the area of a bar selling overpriced drinks or a shop selling overpriced merch, either of which might be grossing more than the now "unsold" ticket would have generated.

But even if it actually is dropping the 36 ticket drop between 22 & 23 is certainly not a number that caused an emergency meeting in the sales department.

So when the team decided to shell out a huge individual season salary to LeBron to keep him in LA, and then drafted his son, it wasn't to sell tickets? The most overpriced merchandise is for sale in the stadium. I think the sales team would be more concerned with what the numbers would be without James there.

[Peter_Spaeth]

https://www.si.com/nba/lakers/news/f...t-01ja6j3xxr4f