NBA hall of famer Charles Barkley is known to speak what's on his mind, and most recently this included blasting the Lakers front office for how they have handled their No. 55 overall pick Bronny James.
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Being the son of LeBron certainly comes with a lot of hype, however, Barkley believes the team needs to focus on developing Bronny as a player before putting him on an NBA court when he is not ready.
While appearing on "The Bettor Angle" podcast this weekend, Barkley spoke on the Lakers' plan for Bronny.
"The kid's not ready to play in the NBA," Barkley said. "And, he should be in the G League [full time] so he can play basketball. He's not going to get better sitting on the bench."
Bronny has been assigned to play in the G-League affiliate South Bay Lakers' home games, however, he doesn't travel with the team, as he is seen on the bench during Lakers games.
The Inside the NBA co-host continued, "I don't think they're doing Bronny any favors. And, they just handled this thing really bad. It's a bad look for the Lakers... Like, you come off a road trip, and there's a player you ain't seen in a week or two, and then you feel like you probably got to play him."
Charles Barkley blasts the Lakers for its treatment of Bronny James saying he belongs in the G-League and will not get better sitting on the bench in NBA games and not playing road games for the South Bay Lakers 😮 pic.twitter.com/CNPaPzglMG
— Ball Exclusives (@ballexclusives) November 25, 2024
Considering this may be LeBron's idea for his son, Barkley also put blame on the NBA's all-time leading scorer.
"I really like everything LeBron's done, but this is a bad look for him, in my opinion."
In view of Bronny's on-the-court play, the 20-year-old has played in six NBA games and has shot 1-for-6 with four points, one rebound, two assists and one steal.
Then, in two G-League games, Bronny has averaged 5.0 points (21.1% FG), 2.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.5 steals, and one block per game.
Bronny's G-League debut with the @SouthBayLakers
6 Points
2/9 Shooting
0/4 Threes
4 Assists
2 Steals
1 Block
5 Turnovers
Wpic.twitter.com/KVkDqPWy18— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) November 10, 2024