Recently, the Los Angeles Lakers made shockwaves around the NBA when it was unearthed that they had signed rookie second round pick Bronny James, son of NBA legend LeBron James, to a multi-year, fully guaranteed contract with the franchise. While it has happened before, these sorts of contracts aren't necessarily the norm for second round draft picks, but such are the perks of being related to the (arguable) greatest player of all time in James and playing for the most iconic franchise of all time in the Lakers.
The fact that Bronny and LeBron are now teammates marks the first time in NBA history that a father and son duo have been in the NBA at the same time, let alone played for the same squad. Although the elder James is now approaching the age of 40, there is hope that playing alongside his son will help him discover the fountain of youth, and one person who is buying into that notion is none other than former NFL MVP Cam Newton.
“Now he’s playing for something, not that he wasn’t playing for something before. Just think about this, he has a new burning desire, a person that he has to show the ropes,” said Newton, via the 4th & 1 Podcast on YouTube. “…going to be come on son, we gotta get great today. And don’t let Bronny push his dad, ‘hey pop you in there with my mother f—-ing momma, get your a– out we’ve got to win a championship.’…LeBron has purpose now, this mother f—-er has just been rejuvenated, he’s got someone that he can play for now. To show the ropes on the road, in-season, off-season.”
Newton also took the time to fire back at critics who have said that Bronny James is only in this position due to his last name.
“I’m about to give you all the ingredients to the damn cake, and it’s up to you, I’m not going to let you fail,” said Newton. “The same as anybody who’s an executive, anybody who’s a manager, anybody who’s a coach. So that’s what I mean, f—k the nepotism.”
How much will Bronny contribute?
Probably not a lot, at least initially.
It's extremely rare in the modern NBA for a late second round draft pick to immediately see minutes right off the bat in the big leagues, especially when the team they play for has (however misguided) championship aspirations in the short term.
However, it's worth noting that nothing about the Bronny James saga or its surrounding circumstances is normal, and the pressure from Lakers fans that will surely be put on JJ Redick to give the younger James some minutes might just be enough to crack a young coach who is undergoing his first experience on the sidelines at the professional level.
While his game understandably needs a lot of refinement (as is the case with virtually every rookie), Bronny James does have an intriguing combination of defensive instincts and perimeter shooting that have generated comparisons to ball-hawk players like Davion Mitchell. Not a bad comparison indeed.
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