Stephen A Smith’s Message to Lakers Star LeBron James About Bronny James’ NBA Hopes

LeBron James and the Lakers are currently in the midst of a very important offseason for the franchise’s future direction following their crushing five-game loss to the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs. James played relatively well in this series, but overall the Lakers were unable to maintain the double-digit leads they built in each game and ultimately fell to Denver for the second year in a row, this time in a gentleman balayage instead of a regular balayage.

Now, James is in the middle of his offseason routine and was recently spotted at a playoff game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics, while his son Bronny is participating in the NBA Combine in preparation for the draft, which is expected to take place in June.

Much has been made about the viability of Bronny James as a legitimate NBA prospect, but recently, NBA insiders Stephen A. Smith and Kendrick Perkins have spoken out. First take to send LeBron advice on how to handle his son’s situation.

“One thing about LeBron James being at the Cavs game, I’m glad he’s there and not at the game, because now Bronny has to show up and show up,” Perkins said, per NBA on ESPN on Youtube. “The deserved meaning is not given. LeBron stay away, we don’t need you on the internet saying oh look Bronny, they said he can’t shoot, he shoots, oh he has a 40 inch vertical, no more doing exaggeration. Like now he’s in the trenches and I have to say from what I saw at the combine he looks really good, I mean he’s 6’1, he’s got a vertical of 40 inches, he shoots the trey ball very well.

Meanwhile, the usually opinionated Smith took a decidedly less direct approach when discussing the subject.

“I’m not very comfortable with this subject so I’m just going to say what I’m going to say because if you notice, I’m trying my best not to talk about Bronny James who I’ve never seen play” , said Forgeron. “The reason I go out of my way to not talk about him is because I never liked the position that LeBron James put him in and I say that with deep respect.”

Where will Bronny be drafted?

As Smith and Perkins both mentioned, LeBron James may have put extra pressure on his son’s shoulders at times, including stating that he is better than several NBA players and could have started with the Lakers this year.

To his credit, Bronny James has performed well at the Combine thus far despite having a relatively pedestrian season at USC, although it should be noted that that season he was rebounding from a cardiac arrest suffered in the summer last, so the fact that he was even able to dress himself is an impressive achievement in itself.

Regardless, the NBA Draft is scheduled to take place in June.