Speaker 1: Now let's go to Philadelphia, where Bronnie James last night
Speaker 1: played his most minutes by far in an NBA game
Speaker 1: last night, as the Lakers lost to the seventy six
Speaker 1: Ers one eighteen to one oh four. Bronnie was held
Speaker 1: scoreless in fifteen minutes and struggled guarding Sixers star Tyrese MAXI.
Speaker 2: Before I get to my.
Speaker 1: Thoughts, please take a listen to coach JJ Reddick and
Speaker 1: what he had to say about Bronnie's performance last night.
Speaker 2: Take listen.
Speaker 3: I maybe put him in a tough spot, you know,
Speaker 3: flying up yesterday and you know, nationally televise game and
Speaker 3: Philly all that stuff. It's you know, he didn't play well,
Speaker 3: but he's been playing great, you know, in the State
Speaker 3: Ready games, and he's been playing great in the g
Speaker 3: you know.
Speaker 1: I was on First Take My Day job on ESPN
Speaker 1: earlier this morning. I spoke about this and I felt
Speaker 1: the need to elaborate even further because a couple of
Speaker 1: people text me and pissed me off, and they know
Speaker 1: who they are, people close to lebron James talking to
Speaker 1: me about questioning him as a father. Come on, y'all,
Speaker 1: I mean, it's gotten to a point where this Lebron
Speaker 1: sensitivity is just beyond the pale. You call him the
Speaker 1: second best player in the history of the game. You're
Speaker 1: insulting him because you said he's not the goat. You're
Speaker 1: saying that at age forty, we've never seen anybody do
Speaker 1: what he does, but pointing out at times how he
Speaker 1: may not have hustled back on defense in a key
Speaker 1: pivotal moment, and that's a problem. You give him all
Speaker 1: the praise in the world when he drops forty, but
Speaker 1: he has a bad night and you say he had
Speaker 1: a bad night and you're hating.
Speaker 2: It's ridiculous.
Speaker 1: But never before has it been more ridiculous than it
Speaker 1: is right now, because the reality is is that we
Speaker 1: got to be real about what we're seeing when we
Speaker 1: talk about Bronnie James. I am not a person that
Speaker 1: had a problem with Bronnie James being on the court
Speaker 1: for the season opener with Lebron James. That was a
Speaker 1: phenomenal moment to see a father on the court with
Speaker 1: his son who has NBA aspirations playing together for the
Speaker 1: first time in NBA history. The Griffi's in baseball, King
Speaker 1: Griffy Senior and Junior were in attendance for it. It
Speaker 1: was a special moment. My position has always been that
Speaker 1: should have been the only moment we saw Bronnie James
Speaker 1: in the Lakers uniform this season. Because he's not ready.
Speaker 1: I'm not here to tell you that he won't be ready.
Speaker 1: I'm not here to tell you that he won't be
Speaker 1: an NBA player. I'm not here to tell you that
Speaker 1: he should give up his dreams and his aspirations. I
Speaker 1: think the kids got potential. I think the kid will
Speaker 1: be in the NBA one day. I watched him in
Speaker 1: the G League doing this thing. I think he's gonna
Speaker 1: be fine eventually. But that's not the case yet. And
Speaker 1: because it's not the case yet, and then you see
Speaker 1: some of these numbers, I do find myself looking at
Speaker 1: Lebron James instead of Bronnie James.
Speaker 2: Because Lebron is the basketball savant.
Speaker 1: Lebron is one of the top two greatest players in
Speaker 1: the history of the game. Lebron has got forgotten more
Speaker 1: basketball than most people would know. So no matter what
Speaker 1: we think about Bronni, he knows more. But you see
Speaker 1: what you see. Bronnie James has played in thirteen NBA games.
Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, He's averaging zero point three points, zero
Speaker 1: point three assist, and zero point four rebounds. He shot
Speaker 1: one for sixteen from the field in his NBA career,
Speaker 1: an zero for seven from three point range, and he's
Speaker 1: playing in the first quarter.
Speaker 2: Of an NBA game, really, and.
Speaker 1: Everybody wants to look at it, and Lebron has nothing
Speaker 1: to do with that. That's yeah, he didn't tell JJ
Speaker 1: Reddick to put him in the game. I get all that,
Speaker 1: but come on, I'm not being cruel to Bronnie. I'm
Speaker 1: I'm looking out. Do you want it this way?
Speaker 2: Lebron? Do you want it this way? Rich Paul? Do
Speaker 2: you want it this way?
Speaker 1: He can't go into the G League and average twenty
Speaker 1: twenty five and stay there until he's ready because he's
Speaker 1: Lebron's son, you know how they're gonna judge him. And
Speaker 1: before anybody wants to jump on me, remember I never
Speaker 1: saw Bronnie James play until he showed up in the
Speaker 1: NBA and the G League.
Speaker 2: I refused to watch him.
Speaker 1: Because if I watched him, I would have to talk
Speaker 1: about him, and I didn't want to talk about Lebron
Speaker 1: James soon because I thought it was so unfair to
Speaker 1: the kid.
Speaker 2: He's such a wonderful kid, wonderful family.
Speaker 1: I don't want to hear me talking about questioning Lebron
Speaker 1: james fatherhood Lebron. How many times do I have to
Speaker 1: rave about Lebron James On ESPN? I put up a
Speaker 1: ticker great father, great husband, great philanthropians, great businessman, great actor,
Speaker 1: great producer, great director.
Speaker 2: Great great great great.
Speaker 1: How many times have I said that, I'm simply saying, Yo,
Speaker 1: he's not ready yet, And to put him out there
Speaker 1: getting him exposed to that.
Speaker 2: It's really hard to watch.
Speaker 1: When Kobe Bryant was a rookie and shot those airballs
Speaker 1: in that close out playoff game against the Utah Jazz,
Speaker 1: people were talking about he wasn't ready for the moment,
Speaker 1: and I thought it was unconscidable. What coach Del Harris
Speaker 1: at the time did it to him by throwing him
Speaker 1: to the wolves because he got frustrated because Kobe kept
Speaker 1: talking about how he's gonna end up being the greatest ever,
Speaker 1: because he was chasing Jordan, and they got tired of
Speaker 1: here in his mouth and his bravado, and he threw
Speaker 1: them to the wolves very unfairly, which I think is
Speaker 1: something that ultimately ruined Del Harris because he shouldn't have
Speaker 1: done that. But nobody questioned whether or not Kobe Bryant
Speaker 1: belonged to the NBA. Nobody questioned that. With Brownie James,
Speaker 1: they're questioning it because there's no collegiate career to speak of,
Speaker 1: because he had the health issue and never really did
Speaker 1: anything at USC in his only year there.
Speaker 2: And he ends up getting drafted fifty fifth overall.
Speaker 1: And I don't care about the money that he's gonna
Speaker 1: end up making, like he'll end up making over a
Speaker 1: span of a couple of years eight million, while the
Speaker 1: other fifty fifth pick from the year before the year
Speaker 1: before that probably made about eight hundred thous.
Speaker 2: The hell with that.
Speaker 1: Lebron James is underpaid. Lebron James is underpaid. He should
Speaker 1: get paid much more than he's getting paid.
Speaker 2: In any money.
Speaker 1: That he could get for his son, he could get
Speaker 1: for Rich Paul, he could get for anybody, he should
Speaker 1: get because he is underpaid, Well, what he means to
Speaker 1: the NBA. I don't care about the money. I care
Speaker 1: about what the kid is being exposed to with Lebron
Speaker 1: James mystique hovering over him. Zero point three points, zero
Speaker 1: point three assists, zero point four rebounds, one for sixteen,
Speaker 1: shooting over all zero for seven from three point range
Speaker 1: thirteen games.
Speaker 2: There are millions of.
Speaker 1: Kids out there starving to play in an NBA game
Speaker 1: that are more qualified than his status show. And what
Speaker 1: I'm saying is, if you see a son being exposed
Speaker 1: to things they may not be ready for, when do
Speaker 1: you wrap your arms around them and say, all right now,
Speaker 1: now it's not the time. I used a boxing analogy
Speaker 1: on First Take earlier this day, and I used Marvis Fraser,
Speaker 1: the son of Joe Fraser.
Speaker 2: Go back and look at the highlights.
Speaker 1: He went into the ring against heavyweight champion Larry Holmes,
Speaker 1: who had one of the best jabs and one of
Speaker 1: the best right hands in boxing history. And I remember
Speaker 1: Larry Holmes being interviewed and saying, ain't no kid with
Speaker 1: ten damn fights beating me, That's what he said. And
Speaker 1: then went in there and beat him in the first round.
Speaker 1: Remember he dropped them. And then remember Fraser get up
Speaker 1: and if you remember the fight, ladies and gentlemen, hit
Speaker 1: him with a right and wave the referee on hit
Speaker 1: him the right and waved the referee to come and
Speaker 1: stop and fight. Hit him again, wave the referee to
Speaker 1: stop the fight because he knew the kid didn't belonging
Speaker 1: to ring with him.
Speaker 2: And you know who took the hits for that.
Speaker 1: Joe Frasier, former heavyweight champion of the world, one of
Speaker 1: the great fighters in history. Had no business putting his
Speaker 1: son at that early stage in the squared circle with
Speaker 1: Larry Holmes.
Speaker 2: Look it up.
Speaker 1: That's all I'm saying with Lebron the best of intentions,
Speaker 1: wonderful father by all accounts. I'm not casting any aspersions
Speaker 1: on him. I'm saying, that's your son, bro. You know
Speaker 1: the game of basketball. He ain't ready yet. Why put
Speaker 1: him in that position? You had your moment being on
Speaker 1: the court with him. Now, that kid's gotta go earn
Speaker 1: his stripes, which I believe he will do watching him
Speaker 1: in the G League. Can't do this, can't continue to
Speaker 1: let us see what we've been seeing.
Speaker 2: And I'm wrong.
Speaker 1: I'm questioning him as a father because I'm saying, YO,
Speaker 1: wrap your arms around him and say not now, not
Speaker 1: just yet. That's questioning somebody's fatherhood, you see. That's why
Speaker 1: ladies and gentlemen, contrary to what people believe, I have
Speaker 1: a great relationship with a lot of NBA players.
Speaker 2: You don't have to know that. I know that.
Speaker 1: I know who talks to me, I know who gives
Speaker 1: me information, I know who reaches out to me.
Speaker 2: There's plenty of players. Some of the stars don't, and
Speaker 2: I could give less than a shit.
Speaker 1: Because we've devolved to a point where literally trying to
Speaker 1: be constructive and helpful is considered hating. They adopted, their
Speaker 1: hanging runs adopted, and you're the villain for pointing out
Speaker 1: the obvious.
Speaker 2: I'm tired of that sensitive shit. It drives me nuts.
Speaker 1: We gotta preface every comment we make with a bunch
Speaker 1: of platitudes and lauda bulls about everything. I mean, damn,
Speaker 1: what do we gotta do do their laundry before we
Speaker 1: say something.
Speaker 2: We gotta sit there and give them a bubble bath.
Speaker 2: Before we sat they played like shit. I mean, come on,
Speaker 2: it's gotta stop.
Speaker 1: I mean, no disrespect whatsoever to Lebron on this issue.
Speaker 1: I would never do that to any player, any athlete.
Speaker 1: I'm saying, we all see what's happening with your son
Speaker 1: right now.
Speaker 2: It's kind of hard to watch.
Speaker 1: Not that it won't change, not that it won't get better,
Speaker 1: but it's not there yet.
Speaker 2: You could do something about that. Why haven't you. That's
Speaker 2: all I mean, no disrespect, none, That's all I'm saying.
Speaker 1: Staying in the NBA, where, according to ESPN Shan Sharania,
Speaker 1: the Sacrament of Kings expected to open talks for a
Speaker 1: potential the Aaron Fox trade. The King's All Star guard
Speaker 1: has one year left on his contract before he hits
Speaker 1: free agency in the summer of twenty twenty six. San
Speaker 1: Antonio Spurs are apparently the top destination on his list
Speaker 1: as a potential landing spot. I wish he could go
Speaker 1: to the Lakers personally, I know Anthony Davis wants a
Speaker 1: five so he can go back to his NAT position
Speaker 1: at the four d. Aaron Fox has average at least
Speaker 1: twenty five points over the last three years.
Speaker 2: He's an All Star. He's an All Star caliber player.
Speaker 1: He's also the only individual that I've ever gotten into
Speaker 1: an argument with Magic Johnson about in twenty five years.
Speaker 2: The Aaron Fox is that dude.
Speaker 1: I implored Magic Johnson to draft that kid number two
Speaker 1: overall instead of a Lonzo Ball. I said, Lonzo Ball
Speaker 1: is a business decision. De Aaron Fox is a basketball decision.
Speaker 1: I saw what that brother did in the NCAA Tournament
Speaker 1: to Lonzo. I saw that he was a better player
Speaker 1: than Lonzo. I think, you got to keep that kid,
Speaker 1: you got to get him.
Speaker 2: And they passed because Lonzo ball, Chino Hills, box Office,
Speaker 2: all of that.
Speaker 1: No knock against Lonzo because I hope he gets healthy
Speaker 1: and I believe in the brother.
Speaker 2: But d Aaron Fox is Di Aaron Fox.
Speaker 1: However, his wife and what I'm told is from San
Speaker 1: Antonio obviously playing with Victim when Meenyonna the best defensive
Speaker 1: player in the NBA as far as I'm concerned right
Speaker 1: now and will soon be the best player in the
Speaker 1: world at seven five with his skill set, who knows
Speaker 1: what's down the pipe for them, They've got it like
Speaker 1: nine picks. You get the Anon Fox women Vianna could
Speaker 1: be special. So I understand that Houston, Miami, New Orleans,
Speaker 1: other teams like that are in the mix.
Speaker 2: I wouldn't mind seeing the Aaron Fox in Miami either.
Speaker 1: But in the end, what it really really comes down
Speaker 1: to is that I really wish he was with Anthony Davison.
Speaker 1: Lebron James in Los Angeles ain't gonna happen at all,
Speaker 1: likely so they don't have the assets to get them,
Speaker 1: but it would be nice