Bomani Jones vents about Bronny James' NBA potential, drawing Dwyane Wade and Ken Griffey Jr. parallel: "Ain't nobody got no time playing with Bronny"
American sports journalist Bomani Jones shared insights on Bronny James, the LA Lakers' second-round draft pick, on his show "The Right Time with Bomani Jones" on July 15th. When talking about the big league franchise being in a position to build up the rookie's potential talents, Jones said:
"Ain't nobody got no time playing with Bronny." (Time stamp: 23:30)
Bronny James was drafted late last month at No. 55. Talks surrounding his selection suggested he was picked by the LA Lakers due to nepotism, and since his debut in the big league, the player has struggled on the court. Jones cut to the chase with his analysis of the situation, saying it's clear to him that LeBron James' son is not ready:
"I don't think we have anything to indicate that Bronny is an NBA player. There was nothing to indicate that he gets drafted by that team in that position if his father is not LeBron James, who happens to play for the Lakers. I don't even think there's really not much argument about that at this point." (Time stamp: 7:30)
Jones also drew comparisons to other potential nepotism cases in sports while sharing what he's heard from Lakers fans. He talked about how the Salt Lake City Stars drafted Dwyane Wade's son, Zaire Wade, straight out of school as a three-star prospect in the first round of the G League draft in October 2021.
He then said the Ken Griffey situation is not even comparable:
"Ken Griffey Jr. was there for the Mariners because he was the coldest. They went and got his daddy because they thought he might be cool. ... I don't think we have ever envisioned the situation or the scenario where just as a straight-up favor and not even as a novelty act, it would look like a player can get his son on the team, woah, OK." (Time stamp: 12:50)
Ken Griffey Sr. was at the tail end of a 19-year MLB career in which he won two World Series and was a three-time All-Star. He signed with Seattle after the Cincinnati Reds released him, playing 21 games with the Mariners that season and 30 in his next and final pro season. His son was just beginning his Hall of Fame career in Seattle, and they became the first father and son to be MLB teammates.
Bronny James struggles again in his fourth summer league game
In his fourth summer league game of the 2024 Las Vegas Summer League against the Boston Celtics on Monday, James once again struggled. The guard had poor shooting and made little impact overall.
He shot 1 of 5, including 0-for-3 from beyond the arc, unable to hit his first 3-pointer of his NBA career. Additionally, he committed two turnovers and grabbed only three rebounds in the Lakers' 88-74 loss.
LA has lost all five of its summer league matchups, going 0-3 in the Cali Classic and off to a 0-2 start in the NBA Summer League in Vegas.
Also Read: "Stop just saying stuff to be polite to Bronny" — Nick Young not a fan of NBA analysts sugar-coating criticisms about Bronny James