I feel sorry for Bronny James. His father did him no favors. What if other players think he’s getting more playing time than he deserves because he’s LeBron’s son or taking over one of their jobs? What if LeBron wants him to get more time than he deserves? Think Doc and Austin Rivers. Terrible move for Bronny and the Lakers.
Alvin S Michaelson
Del Rey Marina
Shame on Jeanie Buss, shame on Rob Pelinka, and shame on the Lakers organization for selling their souls to team James. Nothing against Bronny, but the younger James wasn’t even good enough to make a meaningful impact at USC. So not only did the Lakers waste a second round pick on Bronny, but more importantly, these moves will potentially cost a deserving youngster a valuable spot in a very limited NBA player pool.
Greg Nersesyan
North Hollywood
Lakers using valuable draft pick on Bronny James? Bronny didn’t even make the first team in high school. He didn’t start last year for a very bad USC team and averaged less than 5 points per game. He’s going to add absolutely no value to the Lakers’ roster. They could have signed him as a free agent, since no other team would have drafted him unless his dad was on the team. I’m 75 years old. Sign me… it’ll make the same difference in the Lakers’ chances of a championship. And I’m playing for league minimum.
Jack Nelson
Los Angeles
So now it’s official: The Los Angeles LeBrons are officially hostage to LeBron James and Rich Paul. The successful negotiations included a $50 million contract for a 40-year-old, a draft pick for a player who couldn’t even start for his college team, and a head coach who’s never coached a day in his life but does a podcast with James.
In two years, LeBron will have retired, the Lakers will have a new coach and the 55th pick will be the 11th man off the bench. And the Lakers won’t see the playoffs again until the next decade.
Bob Goudsteen
Corona Del Mar
Bronny James has probably had better, individualized coaching than any other player ever drafted into the NBA. So let’s wait for Bronny’s play before he or the Lakers are criticized.
Richard Raffalow
Valley Glen
Dear Lakers,
You’ve now officially become an embarrassment.
George Sagadencky
Encino
I have to believe
Every coach who has won a championship with the Lakers did so in their first season, even Mike Dunleavy made it to the ’91 Finals. Will Redick do it after one or will Ham follow through the door after two?
Reuben Hernandez
El Monte
Stunner. JJ Redick plans to lead the Lakers to a championship. They all say that! In fact, they said so. Even Mike (Train Wreck) D’Antoni and Darvin (Turnovers Are Just Part Of The Game) Ham have said that. We all know how those stories ended. And they were authentic, professional coaches. Oh, well, if the Lakers are unwatchable this season, we can always look to the Clippers for a reminder of what real NBA coaching looks like.
Thomas Bailey
Long beach
I’m not sure why JJ Redick felt the need to drop two f-bombs during his introductory press conference. I sure hope he didn’t do that when he was giving his fourth-grader team their pregame talk.
Steve Briseno
Mission Old
I’m 79, a retired teacher, and I can curse with the best of them. But JJ Redick’s f-bombs on national television offended me and many others. Sorry, JJ, you just lost a fan.
David Martinson
Costa Mesa
Don’t follow the money
The Times article about UCLA basketball and NIL wasn’t really shocking, since UCLA and USC now make more moves than the Lakers and Clippers. Thanks, NCAA, for destroying the game we used to love.
Wasn’t it more fun to watch players develop from freshmen? Can you imagine if Bill Walton moved from Westwood to San Diego State fifty years ago?
Fred Wallin
Westlake Village
The professionalization of college basketball and football has finally separated these sports from any meaningful “college education.” Universities are now just free minor leagues for the pros. Sad.
Henry A. Hespenheide
Hermosa Beach
Smooth topic
Like Sammy Roth, I am also a lifelong Dodger fan and followed them as an 8 year old when they came here in 1958.
Although I would rather not get involved in politics and let the last bit of fun, sports, be ruined, his one-sided argument opened a huge can of Pandora.
First, I can point him to articles from Time, Newsweek, etc. from the 1960s that “claimed” that the next ice age would come in 10 years due to global warming. Well, what happened!? We’re still here, and the arguments on both sides of this issue are scientifically sound. There is enough supporting data that we are not on the brink of destruction. And to make such skewed and biased statements like “human civilization is in a terrible dire position, and it’s largely Big Oil’s fault” is simplistic and ridiculous. The gradient approach to cleaner energy is what is practical.
So why don’t we just leave politics out of the sports section and not bicker and argue.
Rick Solomon
Lake Balboa
I agree with Sammy Roth’s column about the Dodgers cutting ties with Big Oil because Union 76 no longer supplies the little Styrofoam balls we all used to put on our car antennas. Another sign of the end of an era.
Allan Kandel
Los Angeles
Nightmare on Stadium Way
Regarding the new City Connect Dodgers uniforms, did Freddy Kreuger buy the team?
Bill Locey
Oak view
Whoever designed your new uniforms, I would ask for my money back. In a word: terrible.
Sharon Shilkoff
Wooded hills
Leave him in the Derby
The Dodgers surely realize that in an era when statistical rankings now consist of launch angle, sweet spot, barrels, exit velocity and batted ball distance, Shohei Ohtani, who ranks highest in the Major Leagues in several of those categories, needs to hit hard on every pitch because every game feels like a home run derby. So why would they discourage him from doing the same as part of an All-Star skills competition?
Steve Ross
Carmel
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This story originally appeared in the Los Angeles Times.
