NBA exec: Bronny James doomed by Lakers amid recent hype | News, results, highlights, statistics and rumors

As the most hyped second-round draft pick in NBA history, Bronny James faces a mountain of expectations unlike anything a player selected 55th overall has ever faced.

According to ESPN's Baxter Holmes, a commonly shared opinion among executives and scouts across the league is that James is “doomed” if he begins his pro career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“You’re setting yourself up for failure,” an Eastern Conference scout who has evaluated Bronny for years told Holmes. “It’s like: What’s the expectation here?”

The main point made by those who have spoken to Holmes is that being drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers – who are always in the intense spotlight, which is only reinforced – was the “worst situation” for him. because LeBron James plays for the team “I will continue to develop as an NBA player,” as one Western Conference executive put it.

An executive from an Eastern Conference team told Holmes that the “expectations” of the Lakers' fan base, LeBron and Rich Paul, for James “do not match the reality of his game at this point.”

“If they really knew how far away Bronny was,” the executive added, “they simply wouldn’t have done this.”

The thinking leading up to the draft was that James needed to be in a situation that gave him time to develop.

B/R's Jonathan Wasserman wrote in March that James' inefficient scoring during his only season at USC “raised questions about his ability to create, finish in the halfcourt and hit jumpers consistently” and that he “doesn't have a single compelling skill has proven”. for reaching the next level.”

James shot just 36.6 percent from the field in 25 games for the Trojans. He didn't look much better in Summer League either, hitting on just 35.0 percent of his attempts (15.8 percent from three-point range), albeit in a small sample of four games.

Lakers head coach JJ Redick said there is a plan for James to spend at least some time in the G League, but he also pointed out that Bronny and LeBron will play together “sooner rather than later.”

With the G League season starting after the start of the NBA regular season, it makes perfect sense for Redick to help Bronny play if possible. The South Bay Lakers' first game will be on November 9th. Los Angeles will have played nine games by then.

The pressure on the Lakers to do well this season is enormous as James is nearing the end of his career and recent regular season woes have led to them appearing in the play-in tournament each of the last two years were.

That doesn't leave much room to develop a rookie in games. James will receive more coaching and training than a typical player drafted there, so any potential deficiencies are not due to a lack of attention from the Lakers team.

It would probably be easier for James to break into the NBA if he wasn't on the Lakers with his father, but that's the situation everyone involved seems to have wanted. It's up to the Lakers and 19-year-old James to prove the skeptics wrong.

Our first hint at what Redick and the Lakers will have planned for Bronny when they open the regular season on October 22nd when they host the Minnesota Timberwolves at Crypto.com Arena.