- NBA. Bronny James struggles immensely to make shots while being outshined by Reed Sheppard in Lakers loss
- NBA. Bronny James' unexpected advice from an NBA legend amid his Summer League struggles
The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping they have found a gem in Bronny James , but the early signs are that LeBron's son has a lot of work to do to become a viable NBA rotation player.
Even JJ Redick, his new head coach, has acknowledged that Bronny has a long road ahead of him. Bronny scored eight points in the Lakers' loss to the Houston Rockets in Summer League action on Friday, a game in which he was overshadowed by third overall pick Reed Sheppard -- and Redick took the opportunity to reveal what the rookie's trajectory looks like now.
Redick analyzes what he's seen from Bronny
Redick on Friday spoke to SiriusXM Radio about the early stages of Bronny's development, and he also ed ESPN's broadcast of the Lakers' loss to the Rockets to comment on the hyped rookie's progress so far -- surprising fans with an honest ission about where the player is right now.
"Bronny and I have had a number of conversations. ... He is a development player," Redick said. "He's certainly going to spend time with the Lakers. He will spend time as well in the G League."
The revelation that Bronny will play some of the 2024/25 season with the South Bay Lakers comes less than two weeks after the 19-year-old signed a four-year contract with Los Angeles -- a heavily-scrutinized deal that comes with more than $4 million guaranteed and a $500,000 advance. Redick is also keying in on Bronny's strength as a player -- while NBA icon Paul Pierce has advised Bronny to become more confident offensively, Redick sees the rookie as a potential difference-maker defensively.
"As we sort of build out our player development program, he's going to be an important part of that," Redick said. "And 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."
Redick is already laying the groundwork for how he is going to coach Bronny -- although this rookie is no ordinary first-year player, owing to his bloodlines and the intense scrutiny around him already. Redick dealt with some of this hype himself when he entered the NBA out of Duke University, and he hopes Bronny "lets go of outcomes" and focuses solely on the process of become a well-rounded player.
"He's going to be a big part of what we do in our player development program," Redick said.