Shunning LeBron James' influence tag, Pelicans guard backs Bronny's Lakers fit: "Gonna be on the stay ready team"
While LeBron James' son, Bronny James, has shown flashes of brilliance throughout his short playing career, some don't believe he's NBA-ready. Leading up to the draft, there was talk of nepotism. The way some fans saw things, Bronny James only got drafted because of his father. Whereas another player with similar stats in college and experience may have gone undrafted, Bronny landed in LA.
The move wasn't necessarily a surprising one, with betting odds indicating prior to the draft that fans were confident in the Lakers drafting Bronny at No. 55. In addition, reports had indicated that Klutch Sports' Rich Paul was calling teams to tell them that if they drafted Bronny, he would go play in Australia instead.
This only further fueled talk of nepotism given that some don't see the upside to Bronny's game at an NBA level. The way Pelicans guard CJ McCollum sees things, however, as a late second-round pick, Bronny will have time to develop while waiting for his chance at playing on-court.
During Friday morning's episode of Get Up on ESPN, McCollum weighed in on the situation:
"This is the 55th pick in a draft. It's not like he was selected in the top ten. This is a pick in which they have time to develop him. No one in the locker room is going to care. You know why? Because LeBron James has a lot of control, a lot of power.
"He's arguably the greatest player of all time, and Bronny's going to be on the stay ready team."
Rob Pelinka praises LeBron James' son for defensive abilities following NBA Draft
Some NBA fans aren't sold on LeBron James Jr's skills. In his one season with USC, Bronny put up underwhelming numbers compared to his peers. Over 25 games played, LeBron James' son averaged just 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists.
In addition, he shot just 26.7% from downtown while shooting 67.6% from the charity stripe, and 36.6% from the floor. Despite that, he showed impressive defensive skills, and had a strong showing at the NBA Draft Combine.
In addition to having one of the best vertical jumps, Bronny also finished second in the three-point shooting drill at the combine, knocking down 19 of 25 shots. Given that, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka is confident that LeBron James' son will continue to develop as a player.
While speaking to ESPN's Dave McMenamin after the team drafted Bronny with the 55th pick of the draft, he explained:
"I think he's going to be a point-of-attack defender that can really be disruptive with the way he guards other teams' point guards. I think he can guard multiple positions. And we've really seen growth in shooting. ... We really think he can turn into being an elite shotmaker. Just a 3-and-D player, for sure."
With newly-appointed Lakers coach JJ Redick being a talented three-point shooter in his own right, it will be interesting to see how Bronny James' development progresses.