Athlete

USC to the Lakers: What Bronny James can do to make an impact

Being the 55th pick in the NBA Draft used to mean that a player would fight for a contract in the Summer League and even get their career started in the G League. Perhaps, the microscope over this selection was amplified when the Los Angeles Lakers selected Bronny James. There were a lot of question marks about his career starting from Sierra Canyon all the way to his fairly underwhelming season under Coach Andy Enfields’s USC Trojans. All of those concerns were amplified as the off-season commenced.

There is no other way to say it — Bronny James does not look ready for the challenges of the association, especially when it comes to the eye test. There are flashes of defensive brilliance, but are those one to three plays per game enough?

This one-and-done 20-year-old from the Trojans system is categorically considered a 3-and-D player who can cut in certain play calls. However, his outside shots have not been falling, and he does not bother schemes enough to have Coach JJ Redick to give him substantial minutes. 

So, how will he be able to make a meaningful impact throughout his rookie year?

Well, the easy answer would be to hand him down to Zach Guthrie’s South Bay Lakers such that his game develops. After all, the Lakers are unlikely to waive his 4-year, $7.89 million deal because of LeBron James’ desire to play with Bronny during his prime.

However, coaches and general managers in the NBA never take the easy way out, as history would have it.  Bronny currently sits above Jalen Hood-Schifino in the Lakers depth chart. This would mean that the rookie would be Coach Redick’s third-string point guard behind D’Angelo Russell and Gabe Vincent. Another way to read into it would be that the Lakers are ready to make him undergo a trial by fire throughout their 82-game campaign.

The aforementioned route that the Lakers are taking is quite similar to how the Phoenix Suns developed De’Anthony Melton. They fielded him in 51 games throughout the 2018-2019 season. The numbers were horrendous in his first two years in the desert and with the Memphis Grizzlies. He only sank 30.5% and 28.6% of his three-pointers. But, the experience eventually molded him to be a more efficient shooter as he now knocks down 36.9% of his threes.

Bronny will have his own struggles and his role will differ from Melton. Regardless of how the rookie gets there, he needs to become a significantly better threat on the offensive side of the ball if he wants to have a lengthy NBA career. All of it starts in the next season or two with the objective of growing veteran acumen when it comes to his on-court decision-making.

Let’s be real. He is a vastly different player from his father. The Lakers rookie is clearly struggling, and his 17% three-point field goal percentage in six NBA Preseason games all but proves it. There is a bright side amid all of this adversity. Bronny just recorded his best game yet in the association. He notched 17 points, four rebounds, three steals, and an assist in the Lakers’ 132-74 loss against the Golden State Warriors. His efficiency? It wasn’t great, as he only sank seven out of his 17 shots from the field.

Nonetheless, he already has the defensive prowess down — lacking familiarity when it comes to Redick’s schemes and the new environment brought about by the complexity of NBA offenses are just birthing pains.

This is all but proven when Bronny outlined what Redick wanted out of him in the coming season, “Again, JJ has told me to be as disruptive as possible, forcing me to disrupt the ball and pick up 94 feet, disrupt the ball screens and stuff like that. So yeah, I’m just trying to focus on what I could do best in my role, and it’s been pretty good.”

The Lakers rookie is doing just that as he recorded a game with three blocks against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the preseason. These numbers, while serviceable, are still very lackluster and won’t be enough to get him impactful minutes. Redick and the rest of the coaching staff have the responsibility to make him such a huge net positive on defense that his offense could be overlooked. Think of how the Sacramento Kings crafted Davion Mitchell’s skillsets. The ideal player Bronny could aim for would be someone like Jrue Holiday or Derrick White — an athletic point-of-attack defender who reads passing and driving lanes well to force broken plays —  but he has a long way to go.

The stature he has and the position that he is in are far from the ideal situation for a rookie. His run with the Lakers will be tough in the next few years because of all the vitriol and criticism. But, Bronny needs to be available at all times. There is no other shortcut or springboard to success for players of his archetype. He just needs to play as many games and shut the media out of his ear.