A top executive for a Western Conference team is saying what the world already knows – without his last name, Bronny James wouldn’t be anywhere near an NBA roster right now.
In a new ESPN profile on Bronny which suggests the Los Angeles Lakers have “set (him) up for failure”, numerous executives tear into the situation in which LeBron James’ son was awarded a golden ticket without actually being good at basketball.
There are countless criticisms, with one executive saying, “He should have stayed in school,” while another offered a backhanded compliment that James “would’ve been a really good four-year college player.”
Whether or not that is true, Bronny wasn’t a very good one-year player. And one executive in particular laid it all out in a striking critique of the Lakers’ second-round draft pick.
Bronny James Was Picked On Name Alone
Anybody who’s read my particular coverage of Bronny James – and yes, I am a Lakers fan – knows that it’s been pretty harsh. And rightly so.
The dude was drafted when seemingly nobody else was going to. The team then gave him a 4-year, $7.9 million guaranteed contract. All after averaging just 4.8 points per game with USC this past season.
But if you’re not going to listen to me (and I don’t blame you), take a look at what this one Western Conference executive told ESPN.
“For this whole thing to have even made it this far is surreal,” they said. “Analytically, if you just had the numbers on a page and had no name attached to it, he doesn’t project in any way, shape or form to be an NBA player. His measurables don’t project as an NBA player.”
That’s when he gave away the game.
“There’s literally nothing about him on paper — if no name is attached to it — that makes this make sense.”
RELATED: John Salley Defends Bronny James, Says the Haters Are Just ‘Mad They Didn’t Do It Themselves’
The Whole Thing Is A Joke
There you have it. Bronny James’ name was attached to it. And it is the sole reason he was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers. It was the only way to keep Pops around.
Based on the number of executives who anonymously ranted against James in that ESPN article, I now feel even more confident that reports suggesting that the Golden State Warriors were thinking about picking James before the Lakers were garbage.
It seems most executives were operating in reality when it came to James. He’s not NBA caliber. Whereas Lakers GM Rob Pelinka is simply lying to himself over and over again.
“Bronny is first and foremost a person of high character and second he is a young man that works incredibly hard. Those are the qualities we look for in drafting players,” Pelinka said.
Really? You don’t look for scoring, rebounding, defending, and/or ball handling? If you had, the Lakers would have found roughly 10,000 other players to choose from at the No. 55 slot in the draft.
James’ last name was purely coincidental, of course.
“He’s not a person who is taking shortcuts or is entitled to basketball opportunities,” Pelinka said of the one person in the draft who was given a shortcut and appeared entitled. “He’s worked for everything he’s gotten, including being selected today.”
That is false. He was given a baby nepotism deal because he’s LeBron’s kid. At least if Pelinka and the Lakers admitted that it wouldn’t be so insulting to their fans.
Bronny has kicked off the pre-season right where he left off in the NBA Summer League: incapable of hitting a shot. In two games thus far he’s played 29 minutes, scoring 2 points on 1-7 shooting.