Radio host makes major allegation against Lakers

When it comes to criticism of Bronny James, David Samson might not be the best messenger.

Still, the Nothing Personal host can’t help but be bothered by the Los Angeles Lakers’ messaging of their offseason, including the selection of LeBron James’ oldest son and the fully guaranteed contract he received.

“The Los Angeles Lakers are so full of s**t and LeBron is the key conductor of that. And it offends me,” Samson said while co-hosting Monday’s episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz . “All they had to do was have JJ Redick tell the truth. All LeBron had to do was tell the truth about his involvement in JJ Redick, his involvement in the operation of the team. None of them ever copped to drafting Bronny, as though he was some sort of ‘talent.’

“Then they gave him $7.9 million guaranteed money for a player that didn’t deserve a nickel guaranteed. Then LeBron does a victory lap saying, ‘I took less than the maximum, look at me.’ Meanwhile, the James family got more than the maximum, which is a cap violation. But the NBA will never investigate it because they suck at the teat of LeBron and the Lakers. Yeah, I’m worked up.”

Confronted by Domonique Foxworth with the obvious retort that Samson was also a beneficiary of nepotism with his stepfather previously owning the Miami Marlins, the former Marlins president made it clear he has no problem with the Lakers drafting Bronny James; his issue is with them not being honest about their intentions in doing so.

“How about admitting it?” Samson replied. “Why can’t JJ Redick acknowledge what the Lakers did for LeBron?”

As for the other obvious response — that Samson spent his career running the Marlins massaging the team’s messaging, if not outright lying — he replied by stating that the Lakers’ handling of James has been so egregious that it’s not a lie he’d even be willing to tell.

“When I would lie to people, it’s when there was a possibility that people would buy what I was selling,” Samson said. “There is no one buying that Bronny James got $7.9 million because of his ability.”

Foxworth and Samson proceeded to go back and forth on the subject for nearly 30 minutes, with Pablo Torre effectively playing the role of moderator. Ultimately, Foxworth didn’t disagree that Bronny’s status with the Lakers was the result of nepotism, but the former NFL defensive back thought that Samson was selectively applying his outrage.

As for the charges of salary cap circumvention, it’s not difficult to connect the dots between LeBron taking $2.7 million less than he could have received from the Lakers on his new contract and Bronny receiving a fully-guaranteed $7.9 million contract. For comparison’s sake, the No. 55 pick in last year’s NBA Draft, Isaiah Wong, signed a two-way contract with the Indiana Pacers, while the No. 55 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, Gui Santos, signed a three-year, $5.1 million contract with the Golden State Warriors, only $1 million of which was guaranteed.

Still, there’s nothing in the NBA’s CBA that says a team can’t draft a player’s son — which has never happened before — and teams are permitted to sign second-round picks to a variety of different contracts. Even if the Lakers are violating the salary cap to give the James family more than they’re allowed to, it would be impossible to prove. And as Samson noted, more importantly, the league has no incentive to try to do so.

But while Foxworth might be correct in stating that Samson is being selective with his outrage, he’s hardly the only person calling attention to the egregious nature of the Lakers’ offseason. Dating back to May (if not earlier), it seemed obvious the Lakers would hire LeBron’s podcast co-host as their head coach and draft his oldest son in an effort to keep the four-time MVP in Los Angeles. Lo and behold, it’s early-July and Redick is the Lakers head coach, Bronny James is playing for their Summer League team and LeBron has officially re-signed on a two-year deal.

Would Samson and other critics actually feel better about the situation had the Lakers just been honest about their plans all along? It’s impossible to know. But it sure would be fun to see the reaction to a player of James’ stature not only using his power, but being totally transparent while doing so.

[ The Dan Le Batard Show ]

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