The Los Angeles Lakers made headlines during the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft when they selected Bronny James with the 55th pick. Bronny, the son of LeBron James, impressed scouts at the summer Combine, although his lone college season has fans questioning if he deserved to get drafted. LeBron James' agent Rich Paul reportedly used an intriguing tactic to land Bronny James on the Lakers. Moreover, ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith gave some eye-opening advice on Paul's discourse.

Rich Paul allegedly called other NBA teams and told them not to draft Bronny James, according to the former Warriors GM and ESPN analyst Bob Meyers. Paul is a savvy agent, which is part of the reason some of his clients have been successful. However, he can also get under the skin of commentators like Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins. Smith explained why Perkins needs to learn “to ignore” some of Paul's pushback on the rumors of his orchestrations.

Stephen. A Smith provides insight on Paul amid Lakers drama

“Let me tell Big Perk something about Rich Paul. Paul is somebody, first of all, I love him, we all love Rich. I mean, he gets on our damn nerves sometimes, stuff like that because it's Rich Paul you understand? That's what he tends to do. But we all got love for him. You must learn, Perk, how to ignore him [and his Lakers discourse],” Smith said via First Take.

“Now I know that Rich Paul likes to go on podcasts and be like, ‘Yeah nobody telling me to shut the hell up,' and all of this. Yeah, we do because Rich Paul thinks he’s a producer. I don't know if you know this. Rich Paul thinks that Rich Paul should be sitting where we sitting. Rich Paul thinks that he should be sitting behind the scenes where the producers are and producing. I'm telling you what I know, this brother tries to produce sports television shows. This is what he tries to do. ‘You should be saying this.' Man shut the hell up and do your do your job and let us do our job,” Smith comically added.

Kendrick Perkins responded to Smith and gave his take on Paul amid the Lakers' drama.

“My thing with Rich Paul is, don’t try to make people out look like liars when we knew that there was some truth to those rumors that LeBron James wanted to play with Bronny [on the Lakers]. And it’s okay,” Perkins said.

Will Bronny James live up to the hype with LA?

Bronny James averaged just 4.9 points and 0.8 steals during his freshman season with USC. His numbers were a contract to his high school senior production. James averaged 13.8 points and 1.8 steals during his final year at Sierra Canyon. However, his stats do not tell the full story.

In July of 2023, James suffered a cardiac arrest during a USC basketball practice. Thankfully, he fully recovered and returned to the court, but his rhythm was understandably not the same. Despite James' down freshman season, he impressed NBA Combine scouts with his vertical leap and pro lane agility performances. In addition, he bolstered the perception of his offensive abilities by scoring 13 points in his second scrimmage and performing well in shooting drills.

Regardless of all that has happened, the Lakers feel James will eventually be able to make an impact. it will be interesting to how the 19-year-old fares amid his professional debut.