Bronny James, a rookie guard for the Los Angeles Lakers, has been one of the biggest subjects in the NBA thus far this season. It hasn’t been for his on-court performance, but for how the Lakers have handled his situation since he was drafted.
Los Angeles have been rotating the rookie guard between the NBA and the G League, allowing him to learn the game in a professional situation. However, Los Angeles have only let James play home games for the South Bay Lakers.
This decision has been widely criticized around the league, with multiple media members and former players calling it out. Former NBA star forward Charles Barkley is the latest to weigh in on the situation and he aimed directly at the Lakers for this situation.
Barkley was asked about the situation during an appearance on The Bettor Angle show on the BetQL Network.
“Awful,” said Barkley.
“It was so funny, I was actually taping The Match with Ken Griffey Jr. way before the season started. He was telling me him and his dad were gonna go out to that first game.”
“I don’t think they are doing Bronny any favors. They have just handled this thing very bad. It’s a bad look for the Lakers. I really like everything LeBron has done. But it’s a bad look for him (too) in my opinion.”
Like many others, Barkley doesn’t agree with how the Lakers are handling things. They are doing James a disservice only allowing him to play in home games but it seems more like a safety issue if anything.
Being the son of NBA superstar LeBron James, there are some things that Bronny can’t do. People pay attention to him fully so the Lakers may be trying to negate any situations from arising while on the road.
“I thought it was great, a little ceremony his first game. But the kid is not ready to play in the NBA. He should be in the G-League so he can play basketball. He’s not gonna get better sitting on the bench. And also, this thing where he’s only gonna play homes games.
“It’s stupid, it’s not fair to him. It’s not fair to the team. Can you imagine the coach of that team? You come off a road trip and you have a player you haven’t seen in a week or two. And then you probably feel like you gotta play him.”
The Lakers believe that Bronny can eventually become an impactful player at the NBA level but for now, he isn’t there. Bronny will need to show the team his improvement, otherwise, they may be forced to make a tough decision down the line.
