Klutch Sports agency CEO Rich Paul recently revealed that he and LeBron James had nothing to do with Bronny James' decision to declare for the NBA Draft this year. According to Paul, there were multiple plans laid out for young James, and the current Los Angeles Lakers guard chose the one that led him to team up with his dad.
"Nobody pressured Bronny to go pro," Paul told ESPN. "Bronny had a choice to stay at USC, he had a choice to transfer somewhere else, or he had a choice to go pro." "Bronny is serious," Paul added. "This isn't a f---ing game for him. He wants to play in the NBA, and he wants to play well within his role."
NBA executives think Bronny is making a mistake
The 20-year-old guard has already appeared in the Lakers' first two preseason games, as well as in the summer league. The assessment of his performance truly depends on one's perspective on him. If Bronny is being judged as the 55th pick, then his performance so far can be considered pretty decent. But if he's being evaluated based on the hype around him, then he's been disappointing.
That said, the public eye will never miss every little thing James Jr. does. That's why multiple executives around the NBA believe that his decision to go to the NBA was the biggest mistake he could ever make.
"The expectations for Bronny by the fan base and by LeBron and Rich Paul are not commensurate with the reality of his game," one Eastern Conference executive said . "If they had any real idea of how far away Bronny is, they just would not have done this."
"For this whole thing to have even made it this far is surreal," another Western Conference executive said . "Analytically, if you just had the numbers on a page and had no name attached to it, he doesn't project in any way, shape, or form to be an NBA player. His measurables don't project as an NBA player. There's literally nothing about him on paper — if no name is attached to it — that makes this make sense."
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James Jr. doesn't think he's making a mistake
The evaluations of these so-called executives are honest and fair, but that doesn't mean James Jr.'s legacy is set in stone. With the decision to forgo college and head to the pros, the goal of the firstborn son of LeBron James is to continue to get better — whether that's in the G-League or in the NBA itself. Bronny believed that becoming a pro was the best way to develop his game.
"My dream has always just been to put my name out, make a name for myself, and of course, you know, get to the NBA, which is everyone's end goal that is here," Bronny said. "I never thought about just playing with my dad, but of course, he's brought it up a couple times."
The 6'1"guard has done an impressive job so far handling the media and blocking out all the negative noise thrown at him over the last couple of months. He knows they have the right to assess his game, and he doesn't care one bit if they sound ruthless. Right now, all James Jr. only cares about is developing his game enough to make a name for himself outside of his dad's shadows.
Related: Kwame Brown blasts LeBron and Bronny James in his latest rant: "He just got by on his athleticism because his son doesn't know the basic principles"
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