Paul Pierce calls out Bronny James’ 'anonymous' Lakers teammates for dissing Summer League conduct: 'Seat fillers talking"
Paul Pierce slammed LA Lakers Summer League players for dissing Bronny James citing special treatment in the summer games. Bronny played the second-most minutes for the team in the California Classic.
The only player who played more was Dalton Knecht, who was selected by the team at No. 17 in the first round of the 2024 NBA Draft. Bronny James was selected at No. 55 in the second round.
According to reports, an anonymous Lakers insider revealed that the team's Summer League players were unhappy with the special treatment Bronny received. Former Boston Celtics star Paul Pierce fired back at the players saying that since Bronny was selected in the draft, he deserves special treatment.
"First of all, Bronny got drafted...they developing the draft picks [no drafted players] are here for what they call seat fillers...these are seat fillers talking. He is drafted, of course, they are gonna cater more to him, do more for him, connect because he was drafted."
According to the reports by The U.S. Sun, the Lakers insider said that the attention given to Bronny James didn’t please teammates on the Lakers Summer League roster. Moreover, the treatment also caused a bad vibe within the team.
“‘That kind of tension didn’t help the group of players to build chemistry. And you could feel that there was no unity [between] this group of guys.”
The insider then revealed that the Lakers treated Bronny James as their main player and many of his teammates were not comfortable with it.
“Bronny was the main guy and the others didn’t feel that it was right, that he deserved that.'”
The insider also added that while neither he nor the players have anything against it, the special treatment for LeBron James' son created some internal friction.
Lakers player says special treatment for Bronny James caused frustration to the team
The Lakers drafted Bronny James because they saw potential in him and wanted to give him the right place to develop his game. Throughout the Summer League, Bronny was under the media's spotlight which also brought attention to his other teammates.
While it wasn’t seen during games, one of the players said that Bronny was treated differently from others on the team. The player also alleged that the Lakers wanted him to stand out on the court.
"I mean, he was treated as someone apart, not like all of us, and that is very annoying as we didn’t feel any chemistry in this group of players," the player said.
"I ended up being very frustrated because I was never put in the best situation, or even put in some plays or game plans because they wanted Bronny to show his skills and shine," he said.
The player added that he felt bad for him given that none of this was his fault. However, the player also said that he believed Bronny was not ready for the NBA yet.
Bronny James played four of the Lakers' five Summer League games. He averaged 8.8 points per outing while shooting 35.0% from the field, including 15.8% from the 3-point line, in 25 minutes.