Bronny James Officially Drafted By Lakers As Daddy LeBron Continues To Run Organization Into The Ground
This better work.
All the buzz is over: Bronny James is a Los Angeles Laker.
Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka made the connection official, selecting Bronny, 19, with the 55th pick of the NBA Draft (Day 2).
We all saw it coming: LeBron James' under-qualified son getting a spot on his dad's roster because … nepotism.
READ: Don't Be An Idiot And Bet 'Nepo Baby' Bronny James To Go First In 2024 NBA Draft
Looking back at his one season of playing college ball, Bronny James fell dramatically short of expectations.
LAS VEGAS - Bronny James of the USC Trojans looks on in the second half of a quarterfinal game against the Arizona Wildcats during the Pac-12 Conference basketball tournament at T-Mobile Arena on March 14, 2024. (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
How Did Bronny Get Here?
The USC guard got off to a rough start after suffering cardiac arrest during offseason training at Galen Center last summer.
James worked himself back to full health and appeared in 25 games, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists. At one point, LeBron James spoke out and declared that Bronny was good enough to play for the Lakers.
LISTEN: OUTKICK's ALEJANDRO AVILA DISCUSSES NBA DRAFT, REDICK TO LA
Now, Bronny has a chance to back his father's claim, even if his skill set offers little to solve the Lakers' problems; at the end of the day, the team's objective should be fixing the roster's deficiencies, not pleasing LeBron.
Bronny shot 36.6 percent from the field at USC, shooting 26.7 percent from the three-point line. So he's not much of an under-sized shooting threat.
CHICAGO - Bronny James talks to the media during the 2024 NBA Combine on May 15, 2024 at Wintrust Arena. (Photo by Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)
At the draft combine, Bronny measured closer to 6-foot-1 than his 6-foot-4 frame referenced throughout his freshman year.
Lacking any real strengths, the NBA media dubbed Bronny a "defensive stalwart."
(Will Bronny surpass expectations in the pros? Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com)
For a Lakers roster that lacks ample bodies in the front court to compete against Western Conference contenders, Bronny's small size won't be a defensive boon. At all.
The Lakers Are All In On A Short-Term Plan
Are there any questions as to how Bronny was drafted to LA?
There shouldn't be; it was all LeBron's doing, and if Bronny fails, that'll also be Bron's responsibility. It was James' plan to bring Bronny, and he made it a focus at every level for the organization.
Before the pick, ESPN NBA analyst and former NBA GM Bob Myers shared that Bronny's agent, Rich Paul (also managing LeBron), was calling teams ahead of the Lakers, advising them not to pick James.
The media was out to defend the Lakers' ridiculous second-round pick.
"This has been the plan all along," ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski during the NBA draft coverage on Thursday..
Most embarrassingly, Woj mentioned that Bronny's development was a key part of the Lakers' conversations with UConn's Dan Hurley for the team's head coaching vacancy. The Lakers eventually went with podcaster JJ Redick as their next head coach. (*sigh*)
The NBA media has pushed back against the ‘nepo baby’ narrative, claiming nepotism has been rampant in the league before Bronny James.
More nepotism is apparently the answer to fixing the underlying nepotism running the league.
HOUSTON - Bronny James of the West team talks to his dad Lebron James of the Los Angeles Lakers after the 2023 McDonald's High School Boys All-American Game at Toyota Center on March 28, 2023. (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images)
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