"You're set up for failure" - Anonymous NBA scout claims Bronny James’ NBA career will likely disappoint
Ahead of Bronny James' rookie season, there has been plenty of talk and prediction surrounding how the second-generation hooper's career will play out. While JJ Redick and the LA Lakers front office are viewing Bronny as a long-term developmental project given that he played just one year in college, one scout has already dropped a strong prediction for Bronny's career.
In an ESPN article written by Baxter Holmes, an anonymous NBA executive and an anonymous scout shared their thoughts on Bronny James. The way one anonymous Eastern Conference scout sees things, not only is Bronny not ready to compete at an NBA level, he's also in a tough environment to succeed.
With the LA Lakers being one of, if not the single most covered team in the league, there's a massive spotlight on Bronny. At the same time, given the fact that LeBron James also plays for the Lakers, the anonymous scout believes that Bronny James has been set up for failure:
"You're set up for failure. It's like, what's the expectation here?"
Of course, heading into this season, the expectation is that the Lakers are focused on developing Bronny James behind the scenes rather than immediately giving him consistent rotational minutes throughout the season.
Anonymous Eastern Conference executive agrees Bronny James isn't NBA-ready yet
In addition to the anonymous scout who was quoted in the ESPN piece, an anonymous Eastern Conference executive also weighed in on Bronny James. The way they see things, if LeBron James and Rich Paul took an honest look at Bronny's skillset, they would have come to the conclusion that he isn't NBA-ready.
After his freshman year at USC, Bronny was left with three choices: return to USC for his sophomore year, transfer to another school to continue his development or declare for the NBA draft.
Bronny decided to declare for the draft, ultimately being selected in the second round this past summer by the LA Lakers. As an anonymous Eastern Conference executive was quoted:
"The expectations for Bronny by the fan base and by LeBron and Rich Paul are not commensurate with the reality of his game. If they had any real idea of how far away Bronny is, they just would not have done this."
So far, it's hard to argue with the assessment, with Bronny struggling throughout the California Classic, as well as the NBA 2K25 Summer League in Las Vegas. In addition, through two preseason games, Bronny struggled to find any rhythm.
While this could be chalked up to NBA jitters, it sounds as though it could be some time before Bronny is truly ready to take the next step and become a part of the Lakers' rotations.