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LeBron James will play with his son on the same team. What will the Lakers get in the person of the son of the great basketball player? All the strengths and weaknesses of Bronny James are in the material Sports.
Jokic, Rodman, and now Bronny
For starters, what is the second round of the draft anyway? Unlike the National Hockey League (NHL), where sometimes nuggets are pulled out even from basements, in the NBA it happens that even in the middle of the first round, truly powerful players run out. Exceptions, of course, happen, but that’s why they are exceptions.
Three-time MVP of the regular season, MVP of the finals and league champion Nikola Jokic was taken with the 41st number (the first round ends at 30), and at that moment there was an advertisement for tacos on the broadcast screen – that’s how much they didn’t believe in him. There was four-time NBA champion and one of the best defenders in the history of basketball Draymond Green (35th), the greatest rebounder and five-time champion Dennis Rodman (27th, by current rules this is the end of the first round) and several other worthy role players. But still, in the vast majority of cases, team managers expect virtually nothing from picks in the second round. The maximum is to help the stars at least a little with long-range shots or defense.
Sometimes decent players (say, Malcolm Brogdon, 36th pick) go low because there are a lot of good players entering the draft that year. Scouts rate their potential below others or believe that their skill set is in some way inferior to those who should go higher – but then it’s up to who studied for what. For example, the same Brogdon took the statuette for the best rookie of the year in his first senior season, although above him in the 2016 draft they took the long-armed forward Brandon Ingram, who was compared to the already legendary Kevin Durant, the dominant guard Jaylen Brown, who justified the advances with this year’s championship title and final MVP prize, high-quality point guard Jamal Murray, sniper Buddy Hield, double-double machine Domantas Sabonis and a whole bunch of other worthy basketball players.
Well, this year's draft was not oversaturated with elite players. There were no guaranteed picks outside the top 5, and even forward Zachary Risache, who went first to Atlanta, was not yet guaranteed to become the team's leader. Therefore, it is not surprising that this time all the juice of the draft was not in the first round, but in the second. After all, it was there that they chose not just anyone, but the son of LeBron James – a man who has already become a living legend of basketball.
Cardiac arrest during training
19-year-old Bronny James naturally left for the Lakers, for whom his 39-year-old father plays. To select a young swingman (either a point guard or shooting guard), they spent the 55th pick out of a possible 60. Considering the draft is not the deepest, you can guess for yourself what status the basketball players lived in that range. Therefore, we can consider that the Lakers gave absolutely nothing, while making a colossal investment for the future.
Firstly, because LeBron James becomes a free agent this summer and, in theory, can sign a contract with any NBA club. At 100 years old, he is still in perfect order – yes, the speed has gone, he no longer has enough strength to work on defense for the entire match (few people remember, but in his youth LeBron was an iron contender for the defensive top five of the year). But his pace of play, monstrous athleticism, unorthodox playmaking and career-bending shooting percentage still make a difference. In the decisive stages of the playoffs, such a player is naturally irreplaceable.
The Lakers in their current state are entirely dependent on two basketball players – LeBron and Anthony Davis, whom LeBron invited to the team. Take one away and everything starts to fall apart. Not to mention the fact that James still generates a huge amount of viewer interest, and this is money that American sports leagues know how to count.
Having broken every imaginable and unimaginable NBA record, LeBron set himself another goal before retiring – to become the first in history to be able to play in the league on the same team as his own son. Therefore, Bronny James entering the draft and his subsequent selection is not only an opportunity to get a raw guy who is not very ready for the league, but also an almost guaranteed option to take LeBron himself as a makeweight, who, according to rumors, was ready to take extreme measures to realize his plans. The Lakers decided that they should be the club that killed two birds with one stone – and without regret they exercised their 55th pick.
But what did the Lakers get in Bronny? It's quite difficult to say for sure. A couple of years ago, analysts said that he would have every chance of being drafted in the top 10 or top 15 – supposedly he moves the ball well, has excellent game intelligence and great defensive abilities. However, last July Bronny suffered a cardiac arrest while training, causing his stock to plummet.
In addition, it turned out that that most of his strengths did not work at the collegiate level. He is practically useless offensively – he can shoot from the receiving end, but not particularly accurately, and he does not use his natural athleticism at all and does not attack in the passing lane. He can't create his own shot, which means he'll have a hard time playing point guard in the NBA.
At the same time, Bronny sees the court normally, he is absolutely not a stupid player, but his defense is perhaps a little overrated. In addition, at the draft combine – a kind of training camp in which future NBA players are tested and measured – another unpleasant detail was revealed. It was previously reported that Bronny's height is just over 190 centimeters, but the tape measure at the combine showed 185. With such height, it can be difficult to defend against several positions, which in turn greatly affects the quotations of a player who, in theory, specializes in defense.< br>
To gain a foothold in the modern league with such height, you need to either be a genius (for example, Chris Paul, 183 cm), or play your role very well. In Bronny’s case, it will be something like the newfangled 3-and-D – “three-point defense.” At the same time, the “three ruble” is still doubtful, and the “protection” needs to be improved. And there is no doubt about Bronny’s desire to plow – with such a father, who completely and completely remade himself at the end of his career only due to his ability to work, you wouldn’t expect anything else. But there are feelings that, given his heart problems, he may face natural limiting factors.
However, as long as LeBron remains with the Lakers, Bronny will definitely be kept an eye on. He will almost certainly get his 10 minutes on average during those periods when the result is almost a foregone conclusion. And then everything will depend on him. He has the tools to be a good role player at the NBA level. But it seems he is not destined to become a legend like his father.
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