Anonymous NBA Executive Supports Lakers’ Decision To Draft Bronny James

While the Lakers ' drafting Bronny James has been a heavily scrutinized move, one anonymous NBA executive told Heavy's Steve Bulpett that Bronny's stint at USC shouldn't be held against him and that he impressed the Lakers during their interview with him. Despite his poor numbers, he is a good prospect and can be developed.

“You can’t really take much of anything from his season at SC. It was a dysfunctional team, and then he came in late with the protocols he had to go through. I mean, I don’t think that one year he had is an indication of who he was or what he is or certainly not what he can be."

"The Lakers probably saw him working out and hanging around the team. They saw something good in him, so why not take him? A lot of people saw good things in him, but I think they were scared off."

"I do know there were teams that talked about taking him earlier, but there’s a whole lot of attention that comes with having LeBron’s son on your team, and, if you’re not the Lakers, do you really want to deal with that for a second-round pick? Is it going to be worth it? And that’s not even taking into account the stuff about him not being willing to go to any team but (the Lakers).”

Bronny barely got a chance to make an impact at USC, as this executive mentioned, due to his cardiac arrest last year. His recovery, combined with the general chaos surrounding USC's team, meant that James' college year ended quite poorly.

James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists during his time at USC. He shot just 36.6% from the field and a whopping 26.6% from the three-point line, and started just six games while averaging 19.4 minutes a game.

He will get his chance to develop in the G-League, where he is expected to spend the majority of next season with the South Bay Lakers. People may be critical of the move, but it is absolutely the right place for Bronny James to be right now.

JJ Redick Believes Bronny James Can Have An Important Role On The Lakers

JJ Redick spoke on Sirius XM's NBA Radio show about the role he expects Bronny James to play with the Lakers . Redick noted that he has spoken with Bronny about where he will play and what he expects from him, and he thinks that Bronny can become one of the best defenders on the team if he develops the right way.

"Yeah, Bronny and I have had a number of conversations. I actually had a conversation with him yesterday after practice and he is a development player. That's how we're looking at Bronny. He's certainly going to spend time with the Lakers. He will spend time as well in the G League."

"You know, as we sort of build out our player development program, he's going to be an important part of that. And what I've communicated to him right now, what we're looking for, is defensive ball pressure... We're going to develop his shot, we'll develop his ball skills. He's already got a great feel. He has a really good instinctive nature on the defensive end."

Bronny James spoke about taking part in the G-League recently, noting that he is concerned with playing basketball, and isn't worried about where exactly he is playing. And based on his Summer League performances, it is hard to argue that he should be playing anywhere else next season.

James and the Lakers will both understand what exactly needs to be done in order to make James develop into the player he can be. And if that means spending time in the G-League, it is unlikely that Bronny, the Lakers, or even LeBron and Rich Paul, will have too much of a problem with that.

Related: Bronny James Reveals His Favorite NBA Players Of All-Time

Thank you for being a valued reader of Fadeaway World. If you liked this article, please consider following us on Google News . We really appreciate your support.