Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James thanked coach JJ Redick and vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka for everything they have “given” him after selecting him 55th overall in the 2024 draft.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — After rookie Los Angeles Lakers, Bronny Jamesthanked coach JJ Redick and vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka for everything they have “given” him after selecting him with the 55th pick in the draft last week, Redick corrected his young point guard.
“Rob and I didn’t give Bronny anything,” Redick said during a press conference Tuesday to introduce Bronny James along with the Lakers’ 17th overall pick, Dalton Knecht. “Bronny has earned it… Bronny has earned it with a lot of work.”
Bronny’s parents, LeBron and Savannah James, stood off to the side at the Lakers facility as their oldest son reported for his first day of work in the ‘family business.’
“Definitely an amplified amount of pressure,” Bronny said of the attention surrounding his joining the Lakers. “I’ve seen it on social media and stuff, and the internet and stuff, and there’s talk about maybe I don’t deserve a chance. But I’ve been dealing with stuff like that my whole life. So it’s nothing different, but it’s more amplified, for sure. But I’ll get through it.”
Bronny James was officially introduced by the Lakers. Photo: Getty
The 19-year-old rookie, who entered the draft after averaging 4.8 points on 36.6 percent shooting (26.7 percent from 3-point range), 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.3 minutes per game at USC after undergoing a heart procedure last summer, said the nearly five-month layoff due to the medical issue affected his development.
“I feel like I could have been honing my game more,” Bronny said. “I feel like I’ve been given the opportunity to show what I can really do because I wasn’t given as many opportunities in SC. I’m excited for what’s to come.”
Knecht signed his contract with LA on Tuesday, a standardized deal based on his first-round position. Bronny’s contract is expected to be finalized before the Lakers open their summer league schedule at the California Classic against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. Both Bronny and Knecht are expected to play.
The Lakers and Bronny’s agent, Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul, have discussed a multi-year contract that would secure him one of the 15 full roster spots in LA, sources told ESPN.
LeBron is also not currently under contract with the team. Paul told ESPN that his client would be willing to take a pay cut below the three-year, $162 million maximum contract the 39-year-old veteran is eligible to sign in order for LA to add an “impact player.” However, the Lakers’ attempt to acquire Klay Thompson after James made that gesture fell through, and Thompson joined the Dallas Mavericks on a three-year, $50 million deal, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Pelinka said the Lakers are still trying to bolster their roster and would include the two future first-round picks they have who are eligible to be traded if the right situation arises.
“I think if the right deal comes along and we have to put draft picks in, we’ll do that,” Pelinka said before acknowledging how the first and second platform structures of the new CBA have put limitations on teams. “We’re in the platform world now. We’ve seen contending teams or championship-level teams have to lose players. That’s a result of the platform world we live in. So does it make trades more challenging? Yes. Does it make good trades impossible? No.”
Bronny, when asked if the prospect of playing with the NBA’s all-time leading scorer influenced the timing of his decision to leave USC, said a father-son pairing was not his motivation for coming out.
“Rob told me there’s a great development system here, so I just want to come here and do my job and get better every day,” Bronny said. “It never occurred to me to play with my dad. But he’s always there to participate. But that wasn’t my main focus.”
Redick said he is close to hiring a director of player development to join his coaching staff.
“I think overall the player development program we’re trying to build is holistic,” Redick said, listing everything from X’s and O’s and nutrition to conditioning and mental toughness as topics he hopes the program will address.
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As Redick continues to work to complete his team, he said Dane Johnson, the coach of the Los Angeles G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, will coach the Lakers’ summer league team in San Francisco and Las Vegas.
“I’ll be very involved in practice,” Redick said. “I’ll also be involved in some capacity during games, during film, all that. We talked about development, it’s an incredible opportunity for Dane and his staff to develop further.”
Knecht, the 2024 SEC Player of the Year after averaging 21.7 points on 45.8% shooting (39.7% from 3-point range), 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists in leading Tennessee to the Elite Eight, said he has already met with LeBron and Anthony Davis since being selected last week and with Redick on Tuesday morning.
“One of the things we talked about is having an open mind,” Redick said of his meeting with Knecht. “Having an openness and letting the results go. And what excites me about both of these guys is that their foundation of basketball is as workers. And that’s a great starting point if you want to become a great NBA player.”
Knecht, who wore Davis’ No. 3 at Tennessee, will wear No. 4 for the Lakers, playing the popular board game, Connect 4. “Why not?” he said.
Bronny will wear the number 9, in honor of the late rap artist Juice WRLD, who referenced the number in his music. Bronny also has “9 9 9” tattooed vertically behind his left ear.
“Juice has been a big part of me staying calm in some situations I’ve been through,” Bronny said. “So just paying tribute to him, especially since he passed away, is something that’s really important to me.”
2024-07-02 23:27:00
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