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EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — After Los Angeles Lakers rookie Bronny James thanked coach JJ Redick and vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka for everything they’ve “given” him after selecting him with the 55th pick in the Draft last week, Redick corrected his young guard.
“Rob and I didn’t give Bronny anything,” Redick said during James’ introductory news conference Tuesday alongside Lakers No. 17 pick Dalton Knecht. “Bronny has earned it… Bronny has earned it with a lot of work.”
Bronny’s parents, LeBron and Savannah James, stood outside the Lakers facility as their oldest son reported for his first day of work at the family business.
“The pressure has definitely been on,” Bronny said of the attention his joining the Lakers has brought. “I’ve seen it on social media and the internet and stuff, and there’s talk that maybe I don’t deserve a chance. But I’ve been dealing with stuff like that my whole life. So it’s nothing different, but it’s more intense, for sure. But I’ll get through it.”
The 19-year-old rookie, who entered the draft after averaging 4.8 points on 36.6 percent shooting (26.7 percent from 3-point range), 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.3 minutes per game at USC after undergoing a heart procedure last summer, said the nearly five-month layoff due to the medical issue affected his development.
“I feel like I could have refined my game more,” Bronny said. “I feel like I’ve been given the opportunity to show what I can really do because I wasn’t given as many opportunities in SC. I’m excited for what’s to come.”
Knecht signed his contract with LA on Tuesday, a standardized deal based on his first-round position. Bronny’s contract is expected to be finalized before the Lakers open their summer league schedule at the California Classic against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. Both Bronny and Knecht are expected to play.
The Lakers and Bronny’s agent, Klutch Sports’ Rich Paul, have discussed a multi-year contract that would secure him one of the full 15 spots on LA’s roster, sources told KeynoteUSA.
LeBron is also not under contract with the team at the moment. Paul told KeynoteUSA that his client would be willing to take a pay cut below the three-year, $162 million maximum contract the 39-year-old veteran can sign so LA can land an “impact player.” However, the Lakers’ attempt to acquire Klay Thompson after James made that gesture fell through, and Thompson joined the Dallas Mavericks on a three-year, $50 million deal, according to KeynoteUSA’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
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Pelinka said the Lakers are continuing to try to strengthen their roster and would include the two future first-round picks they have who are eligible to be traded if the right situation arises.
“I think if the right deal comes along and we have to put draft picks on, we’ll do that,” Pelinka said before acknowledging how the first and second platform structures of the new CBA have placed limitations on teams. “We’re in the platform world now. We’ve seen contending teams or championship-level teams have to lose players. That’s a result of the platform world we live in. So does it make trades more challenging? Yes. Does it make good trades impossible? No.”
When asked if the chance to play with the NBA’s all-time leading scorer influenced the timing of his decision to leave USC, Bronny said the father-son duo was not his motivation for coming out.
“Rob has told me that there is a great development system here, so I just want to come here, do my job and get better every day,” Bronny said. “It never occurred to me to play with my dad, but he’s always there to participate. But that wasn’t my main focus.”
Redick said he is close to hiring a director of player development to join his coaching staff soon.
“I think overall the player development program we’re trying to build is holistic,” Redick said, listing everything from X’s and O’s to nutrition, conditioning and mental toughness that he hopes the program will address.
As Redick continues to work to fill out his staff, he said Dane Johnson, the coach of Los Angeles’ G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, will coach the Lakers’ summer league team in San Francisco and Las Vegas.
“I’ll be very involved in practice,” Redick said. “I’ll also be involved in some capacity during games, during film, all of that. We talked about development, it’s an incredible opportunity for Dane and his staff to develop even further.”
Knecht, the 2024 SEC Player of the Year after averaging 21.7 points on 45.8% shooting (39.7% from 3-point range), 4.9 rebounds and 1.8 assists to lead Tennessee to the Elite 8, said he has already met with LeBron and Anthony Davis since they were selected last week and with Redick on Tuesday morning.
“One of the things we talked about is being open-minded,” Redick said of his meeting with Knecht. “Being open-minded and being driven by the results. And what excites me about both of these guys is that their foundation in basketball is being hard workers. And that’s a great starting point if you want to become a great NBA player.”
Knecht, who wore Davis’ No. 3 at Tennessee, will wear No. 4 for the Lakers, playing the popular board game Connect 4. “Why not?” he said.
Bronny will wear the number 9 in honor of the late rapper Juice WRLD, who referenced the number in his music. Bronny also has “9 9 9” tattooed vertically behind his left ear.
“Juice has been a big part of me and has helped me stay calm in some situations I’ve been through,” Bronny said. “So paying tribute to him, especially since he passed away, is something that’s very important to me.”
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