Las Vegas – Bronny James He said he would welcome any assignment in his first professional season as long as it gave him the chance to play and develop as a basketball player.
“I’m looking forward to any level of competition, any type of basketball,” James said after the Los Angeles Lakers game. Lost 99-80 They will face the Houston Rockets in the Los Angeles opener of the Las Vegas Summer League on Friday.
James was asked about the possibility of a G League contract with Houston. Cam Whitmore The former 20th overall pick by the Rockets in the 2023 draft finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals.
As a rookie, Whitmore averaged 26.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.1 steals in 13 games with Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
James scored six quick points midway through the first quarter against Houston to put L.A. ahead 13-10, but struggled offensively after that, finishing with eight points on 3-of-14 shooting (0-of-8 from 3-point range) and three turnovers.
Through three Summer League games, including two in the California Classic, James is 6-of-26 (23.1%) shooting overall and 0-of-12 on 3-pointers.
“I feel like I’m in a little bit of a slump right now,” James said.
Lakers summer league coach Dane Johnson didn’t take kindly to James’ early offensive slump.
“He’s going to have a long career,” Johnson said. “This is just the beginning. We’re just [confidence]So keep that in mind. So we have a long way to go.”
Johnson, who primarily coaches Los Angeles’ G League affiliate, the South Bay Lakers, was asked about the possibility of James playing in the G League next season.
“I can’t comment on that yet because I don’t know,” Johnson said, “but I think every player that gets drafted is going to end up in the G League at some point.”
Dalton KnechtThe Los Angeles rookie, who was selected 17th overall, led the Lakers with 25 points, six rebounds and four assists on 9-of-18 shooting (5-of-11 3-pointers) in the win over Houston.
James’ embrace of the G League was a shift from the message conveyed by his agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, before the draft.
Paul told ESPN’s Jonathan Givony that his client has told the team he has no interest in joining any NBA team on a two-way contract.
“I told the team early on that if we’re going to acquire Bronny, we need to know what’s next. If we don’t give him a real contract, there’s nothing to talk about.” Paul told ESPN.“It’s hard to get real development in a two-way trade.”
But James continued to play tough defense against Houston, recording two steals to bring his Summer League total to five and frequently guarding the Rockets rookie. Reed ShepherdThe third-round draft pick ran from one end of the court to the other.
“I’ve known Reid since the fifth grade,” James said. “I knew he was a shooter, so I tried to get in his body and stop him from making 3-pointers. I tried to get him on both ends of the court and show the GM and the coaches how hard I worked.”
In fact, Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka was sitting courtside with coach JJ Redick and his two new assistants, Scott Brooks and Nate McMillan. Also in attendance was Greg St. Jean, who is in the process of joining Redick’s staff, according to an ESPN source.
Shepard finished with 23 points on 9-of-17 shooting (4-of-6 from the 3-point line) to go with five assists and four turnovers.
Redick was on hand for ESPN’s Lakers-Rockets broadcast and told Mark Jones and Doris Burke that James has been “amazing” so far, praising the 19-year-old’s defensive prowess.
“I want him to pressure the ball,” Redick said. “I told him yesterday, ‘If you get blown, if you get 10 fouls, that’s on me. I want you to pressure the ball.’
