Bronny James may be the son of a basketball legend, but he’s not above spending some time in the G-League. According to the young baller, he’s open and willing to experience a stint with the South Bay Lakers if it means getting play time and developing his game.
“I’m just looking forward to any basketball I play – no matter what level I’m playing at,” said James via ESPN’s Dave McMenamin. “I just feel like I’m in a little slump right now.”
Bronny is coming off a pretty ugly performance in the Summer League. In just his second showing as a Laker, Bronny struggled to find a rhythm and finished the game with just eight points on 3-for-14 shooting with three turnovers.
Defensively, while he has shown flashes of elite play, Bronny often gets lost or outplayed by the opponent. For a 19-year-old fresh out of college, this is nothing out of the ordinary and it’s still way too early to make any concrete judgments about his game. But for a 55th overall pick, this is not an ideal start and it’s looking more and more like an extended stay in the G-League will be in his future.
For James, it seems that he at least has the self-awareness to recognize that the G-League might be the best thing for his basketball career but it does conflict with his father’s timeline. The 39-year-old veteran doesn’t have much longer left as an active player and he’s looking to complete his dream of sharing the court with Bronny before it’s too late.
So whether it’s this year or maybe next year, we can expect to see Bronny James in an NBA game for the Lakers sometime in the near future but whether or not he can keep his place on the team depends on what kind of growth we see from his game.
Lakers Coach Compares Bronny To Lu Dort
At 6’2″, Bronny James doesn’t have the same physical advantages that LeBron has but he can still be a versatile two-way player in the right conditions. After the game on Friday, coach Redick even compared Bronny to Thunder guard Luguentz Dort.
“What I’ve communicated to him [Bronny James] is defensive ball pressure. I told him I don’t care if you have 10 fouls, I don’t care if you get blown by,” said Redick.”What I do care about is if you’re on the ball and if you’re three feet off the ball. You have been a ball hawk at all times. […] He has a good instinctive nature on the defensive end. Lu Dort just single-handedly broke up the eighth possession of the game. You can’t get into your offense sometimes, the shot clock winds out because of ball pressure. He blows up entire plays. I really believe this – Bronny eventually will be that guy.”
Bronny may not have star potential but the Lakers aren’t expecting that kind of play from him. With his talents and experience, the Lakers are just hoping that he can become a valuable two-way rotation player who can play within the flow of the game and provide some defensive pressure in the backcourt.
It remains to be seen what James can give to the Lakers but it’s clear that they will take a careful and patient approach with his development. If that means assigning him to the South Bay Lakers, then that’s exactly what they will do until they feel like he’s ready for NBA action.
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