After drafting Bronny James with the 55th pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, the Los Angeles Lakers are now looking to make history. LeBron and Bronny are set to become the first father-son tandem to take the court together in an NBA regular-season game.
But while Lakers and LeBron fans eagerly await that historic moment, critics continue to pounce on the Lake Show for giving LeBron's son a spot on the team's roster when he is clearly not ready to play in the big league.
For ex-Lakers center DeMarcus Cousins , drafting Bronny and giving him a spot on their opening-day roster is a clear sign that the Puple and Gold are not in it to win it this season.
"I really don't think the Lakers are serious anymore," Cousins said on Run in Back on FDTV. "I love everything that it stands for. I think what 'Bron is doing with his legacy as a businessman and everything that comes with that, I think it's a beautiful thing. I think it's really, really dope."
They didn't address their needs in the offseason
The LA squad entered the 2024 offseason looking to improve their roster after winning only 47 games last season despite LeBron and Anthony Davis having their healthiest seasons in years. The 17-time champs once again made the playoffs via the play-in tournament as the No. 7 seed and were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Denver Nuggets.
Early on, the City of Angels team was rumored to be targeting DeMar DeRozan, Klay Thompson, Buddy Hield, and even Jonas Valanciunas. But not only did they miss out on all of those names, but they also lost Spencer Dinwiddie, Taurean Prince, and Harry Giles while adding only draft picks Dalton Knecht and Bronny. Boogie likes Knecht but feels they downgraded more than upgraded.
"But as far as the Lakers actually competing, I don't know," added Cousins. "I take that as a sign as they aren't really serious. With the way their season ended last year with the high expectations, I expected more from them as far as making moves. I do like the kid from Tennessee that they drafted, I think that he can be an instant impact player for them. But they had a lot of concerns last year that I don't think really were addressed. I didn't really see those moves made in the offseason."
Lakers should give Bron his moment on opening night
Another former NBA player, Chandler Parsons, urged the Lakers to give LeBron his moment with his son as early as possible so they can focus on the season. According to Parsons, it might be best for the team to play Bronny on opening night and then send him to the farm team where he can develop.
"Avoid all this media circus. Avoid all this hoopla. Play them together on the opening night, and then, just like Lou said, this is a project. Bronny is gonna have some time to develop, and we can nit-pick all we want, 'He doesn't deserve it. How did he get here?' At the end of the day… it's f***ing awesome," Parsons said . "Like his son is to play with his dad. That is cool, it's never happened before. It is history."
Cousins has a point that the LA franchise failed to make any significant changes during the offseason. However, it's also worth noting that they did not see the full capability of last season's roster with injuries to Gabe Vincent, Jared Vanderbilt, Christian Wood, and Cam Reddish. If everybody stays healthy this season, you can argue that the Lakers have a team good enough to compete for the playoffs and maybe even a championship.
Related: Charles Barkley agrees that Bronny James isn't NBA-ready: "He's not a finished product yet"
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