Boston Celtics legend Paul Pierce seemingly took exception to anonymous comments from a member of the Los Angeles Lakers’ Summer League squad who claimed that Bronny James caused tension within the team.
“These are seat fillers talking. Bronny was drafted, of course they’re going to develop him.”@PaulPierce34 takes issue with Lakers source calling out Bronny in Summer League pic.twitter.com/OGGq8xWRrV
— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) July 26, 2024
“Next time you do that, put yo name on it,” Pierce said regarding the anonymous Lakers player. “Don’t be no — put yo name on it.”
James also allegedly received preferential compared to other players on the roster.
“The attention he attracted was ‘very frustrating’ for the players to see, and his alleged star treatment caused friction among the team, which went 0-5 to start the tournament, per a Lakers insider,” wrote Steve Brenner and Damian Burchardt of the US Sun.
“‘That kind of tension didn’t help the group of players to build chemistry,’ said the source, who noted they have ‘nothing against’ Bronny.
“‘And you could feel that there was no unity [between] this group of guys as Bronny was the main guy and the others didn’t feel that it was right, that he deserved that.’”
James — the No. 55 overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft — didn’t have the greatest stint at Las Vegas Summer League. He played in four games during Los Angeles’ time in Vegas and averaged 8.8 points per game on poor efficiency, as he shot just 35.0 percent from the field as well as 15.8 percent from 3-point range.
Unfortunately, James didn’t make up for his inability to score the ball with great efficiency by contributing in other ways. He averaged just 3.5 rebounds and also averaged more turnovers per game than assists (1.0 compared to 2.3).
Before he was drafted by the storied Lakers franchise with one of the last picks of the 2024 NBA Draft, James spent one season playing basketball at the collegiate level for the University of Southern California.
But James debatably wasn’t even one of the best players on the Trojans during his short stint with the team. He couldn’t score the ball at an efficient rate during his time in college basketball either, as he averaged just 4.8 points per game while shooting 36.6 percent from the field, 26.7 percent from deep and 67.6 percent from the charity stripe.
James won’t have another chance to take the floor for the Lakers for quite some time after his underwhelming performance in Summer League.
After all, Los Angeles won’t play a preseason game until Oct. 4, when the team is slated to face off against the Minnesota Timberwolves at Acrisure Arena. The Lakers will then take on the Phoenix Suns two days later on Oct. 6.
If James can rectify his play in Summer League by putting together some memorable performances during the Lakers’ preseason schedule, that could go a long way toward strengthening his case as an NBA-ready player.
