"I don't care if you get blown by" - JJ Redick prepared to give Bronny James a long leash in development trajectory
JJ Redick and the LA Lakers have been heavily criticized for drafting Bronny James. As the Lakers coach. Redick must definitely have had some say in the selection, and the decision hasn’t aged great so far, as LeBron James’ son has struggled to find his shooting form in Summer League.
In an appearance of SiriusXM NBA Radio, Redick was asked how he planned to manage Bronny’s time with the Lakers. The LA coach said:
“Bronny and I have had a number of conversations. I actually had a conversation with him yesterday after practice and, you know, he is a development player. That's how we're looking at Bronny. He's certainly going to spend time with the Lakers. He will spend time as well in the G League, you know, as we sort of build out our player development program. …
“What I've communicated to him right now, what we're looking for is defensive ball pressure. I told him this yesterday. I said, ‘I don't care if you have 10 fouls. I don't care if you get blown by. What I do care about is if you're on the ball and you're three feet off the ball. Like you have to be a guy that's a ball hawk at all times.’”
It’s very clear from JJ Redick’s comments that Bronny James is a work in progress and it would be foolish for even hardcore LA Lakers fans to expect results anytime soon.
JJ Redick made Lu Dort comparisons about Bronny James
In the same interview, JJ Redick proceeded to speak about the influence that players such as the OKC Thunder’s Lu Dort has on their team’s success. Redick said:
“He (Bronny James) has a really good instinctive nature on the defensive end. I thought the third game in the Cali Classic, he made eight or nine really good defensive plays. We used the example yesterday.
"We were at the Canada-USA basketball exhibition game and I turned to one of our assistant coaches during the game and I said, ‘I think Lou Dort just single-handedly broke up the eighth possession of the game.’"
Redick continued:
“Like his impact, you can't get into your offense sometimes. The shot clock winds down because of his ball pressure. He literally blows up entire plays because of that pressure and I really believe this. Bronny eventually will be that guy.”
While it will take Bronny James sometime before he can reach Dort’s level, if he can reach there, JJ Redick will have a defensive weapon who can lockdown the opposition’s best players every night.