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 “gave” him after drafting him 55th overall last week, Redick corrected his young guard.
“Rob and I didn’t give Bronny anything,” he said at a news conference Tuesday to introduce James and 17th-round pick Dalton Knecht. “Bronny earned that. … Bronny earned that through hard work.”
Bronny’s parents, LeBron and Savannah James, stood outside the Lakers facility as their eldest son reported for his first day at work at the family business.
“Certainly the pressure is amplified,” Bronny said of the attention surrounding his arrival to the Lakers. “I’ve seen it on social media and stuff, and on the Internet and stuff, and people saying maybe I don’t deserve an opportunity. But I’ve dealt with this stuff my whole life. So it’s nothing different, but it’s amplified, 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 heart surgery last summer, said the nearly five-month layoff due to the medical issue affected his development.
“I feel like I could have improved my game more,” Bronny said. “I feel like I was given an opportunity to really show what I can do because I didn’t get a lot of opportunities at SC. I’m excited to see what’s to come.”
Knecht signed his contract with LA on Tuesday, a standardized deal based on his first-round position. Bronny’s deal is expected to be finalized before the Lakers open their summer league schedule in the California Classic against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday. Both Bronny and Knecht are expected to play.
The Lakers and Bronny’s representative, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, have discussed a multi-year deal that would give him one of 15 full roster spots in LA, sources told ESPN.
LeBron is currently not under contract with the team. Paul told ESPN that his client would be willing to take a pay cut below the three-year, $162 million maximum contract the 39-year-old veteran is eligible to sign so LA can add an “impact player.” However, the Lakers’ attempt to acquire Klay Thompson after James made that move fell through, with Thompson joining the Dallas Mavericks on a three-year, $50 million deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Pelinka said the Lakers continue to try to bolster the roster and would include the two future first-round picks they have who are eligible to be traded if the right situation presents itself.
“I think if we get the right deal and we have to make draft picks, we’ll do it,” Pelinka said before acknowledging that the structure of the first and second decks of the new collective bargaining agreement has imposed limitations on teams. “We’re in the deck world now. We’ve seen contending teams or championship-level teams have to lose players. That’s a result of the deck world that we live in. So does that make trades harder? Yes. Does that make good trades impossible? No.”
When asked if the chance to play with the NBA’s all-time leading scorer influenced his decision to leave USC, Bronny said a father-son partnership wasn’t his motivation to come out.
“Rob told me there’s a great development system here, so I just want to come in and work and get better every day,” Bronny said. “I never really thought about playing with my dad. But it’s always been there for me. But it wasn’t my main goal.”
Redick said he is close to hiring a director of player development to join his coaching staff.
“I think, generally speaking, the player development program that we’re trying to build is holistic,” Redick said, listing everything from X’s and O’s to nutrition to conditioning and mental toughness as topics he hopes the program will address.
As Redick continues to work on filling out his roster, he said Dane Johnson, the coach of LA’s G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, will coach the Lakers’ summer league teams in San Francisco and Las Vegas.
“I’ll be very involved in practice,” Redick said. “I’ll also be involved to some extent during games, during film, all of that. We talk about development, it’s an incredible opportunity for Dane and his team to develop further.”
Knecht, named 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 in leading the University of Tennessee to the Elite Eight, said he has already met with LeBron and Anthony Davis since being selected last week and with Redick on Tuesday morning.
“One of the things we talked about was having an open mind,” Redick said of meeting Knecht. “You have to be open and not worry about results. And what excites me about both of these guys is that their basketball foundation is hard work. And that’s a great place to start if you want to be a great NBA player.”
Knecht, who wore Davis’ No. 3 in Tennessee, will wear No. 4 for the Lakers — while playing the popular board game, Connect 4. “Why not?” he said.
Bronny will wear the number 9, in homage to the late rapper Juice WRLD, who referenced the number in his music. Bronny also has the “9 9 9” tattooed vertically behind his left ear.
“Juice was a huge part of my ability to stay calm in certain situations that I went through,” Bronny said. “So to honor him, especially since he passed away, is something that means a lot to me.”
