Evanson: Bronny James may be doing things the old fashioned way, but he's definitely not earning it

How are you feeling about Bronny James?

The 19-year-old son of LeBron James was recently drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers and by doing so, the famed franchise and its star forward started another painstaking conversation about what’s right, along with who’s right or wrong for doing it?

But while you can argue endlessly about whether the NBA star’s first born deserves the opportunity, what you can’t argue is whether or not he earned it — and that’s what bothers me.

I’m indifferent to the younger James. To me, he’s nothing more than one of the hundreds of gifted young athletes trying to pave a way to fame and fortune by way of a kid’s game that’s become a billion-dollar business. But while Bronny is good, the NBA is for great, and to date James has yet to prove himself the latter.

Yes, he was a consensus 4-star recruit coming out of high school, but that just makes him good.

Yes, again, he was selected as a McDonald’s All-American which honors the country’s best prep basketball players on an annual basis, but I’d argue that had more to do with his name than his performance on the court.

And yes, yet again, he had scholarship offers from nearly every college in the country before deciding to stay home to play for USC. But I’d contend there was as much to gain for schools and programs off the hardwood from James’ persona, then there was from what he’d bring to those same schools and programs on it, which was proven out by way of his 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game during his one season playing for the Trojans.

So, it would take a Herculean leap to get Bronny to “great” based on what he’s proven on the court, and I’d argue a lesser chasm for him to clear to get him to mediocre compared to his peers.

But with all of that in mind, listening to Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka, new head coach JJ Redick, LeBron’s agent Rich Paul, or the “King” and his various minions out spreading his message, you’d think young Bronny was simply the cream that rose to the top of a mostly even playing field and miraculously ended up falling into the hands of his famous father’s franchise.

C’mon, even if I had recently fallen off of the turnip truck, I couldn’t possibly have hit my head hard enough to believe that nonsense.

And that’s what irks me.

It’s not that Bronny James was drafted, signed a four-year guaranteed contract worth roughly $8 million, or that his dad seemingly made it all happen by way of his stature with the Lakers and the NBA as a whole, it’s that those same people just won’t call it what it is — a favor from a team and league who the elder James has been running roughshod over for the better part of the last decade.

Yet, Redick told us that he and Pelinka didn’t “…give Bronny anything,” and that “Bronny has earned this,” primarily — per the new Laker coach — through his “hard work.”

Also, while clearly nepotism, supporters of James point not to the situation as “OK,” but rather other examples of said nepotism as making the situation alright.

Clearly those arguing such don’t subscribe to the age-old “two wrongs don’t make a right” adage, but I also wonder if they realize by arguing such, they’re admitting to the same thing they’re suggesting isn’t happening with the player they say earned his spot?

Bronny isn’t an NBA player. Not now. He may become one over the next handful of months or years, and if so, I’ll have no issue with the player who would have made the most of an opportunity few get. But stop selling me on his talent, trying to convince me of his rightful place in the league, and most of all lying to me about how he got there, because it’s not doing the young James any good, and it’s making his famous father, his new coach and GM, and the people selling us his situation look a bit foolish — and that they’re earning.