LOL. I am hardly invested. You have written more words about Bronny in the past 24 hours than I have in my entire life. Likely 10 times as many words.
2024 NBA Summer League - The Baylor and Bronny version
- Thread starter HomeRunBaker
- Start date
Had to put it on mute after about a minute, but from what I've seen from Bronny so far in SL, Angry Guy's certainly right about the lack of effort. Lots of half-assed closeouts and drifting back. In the second clip of that video, the one where Screamy points out that he should cut to the basket, Bronny make a tepid effort to crash the glass, but it's so timid that he gets put on his ass by the box out by a dude not much bigger than him.
There are definitely guys around the same talent level as him in SL, but those guys are typically fighting for their lives to get noticed. He's not nearly talented enough to make it while coasting.
Jaylen knows.
Well that's because every post of yours is a two-sentence kneejerk contrarian delve into the ODD psyche. The next time you put thought or effort into a post might be the first, but using that against other posters is a fun new twist.
Yawn. Thanks for the tip. Sorry I don't have time to write a three page rant about how Bronny being in the summer league is the worst thing to happen and how he is ruining guy's chances at future contracts in the NBA. And when someone does write such stuff I will continue to offer contrarian takes
You argue in bad faith. You call me out and want to move away from the substance of your statements. If all you have is silly little one liners, and are not interested in actual basketball discussions, don't engage me. This board isn't instagram.
I admit I am invested since my experience is with guys who have worked their asses off to get an NBA workout, or an invite to summer league. Just my circle of acquaintances has includes guys where a 12 spot on a roster, or a invite to a workout changed their lives. I am a retired coach who wasn't even a head coach in a summer pro league and agents, players, coaches still contact me, not becasue I am anybody but becasue of the desperation to get a foot in the door. When people are involved there is always unfairness, guys from name schools get invited, Guys who dominate in FIBA leagues outside Italy, Spain, France, late bloomers (guys who become shooters as a pros) are overlooked, etc. But, Bronny James is the worst case I have seen. As a teacher and a coach I have dealt with pushy parents, especially parents with money, and I hate that type of behavior. He is a bad, really bad summer league players with a guaranteed NBA contract becasue of his dad. I am shocked how bad he is. He doesn't even play hard, run back on D etc. It pisses me off. Pro ball is a sacred club and if you are on the bottom third of any roster you are a warrior or you are gone.
Bub Carrington has been very impressive for Washington so far in Summer League. He's an interesting player because he was the 99th ranked recruit in the Class of 2023, and then played really well at Pittsburgh, going from off the radar screen to being drafted 14th by Portland and then traded to Washington in the Avidja deal. His decision-making needs work, but he's a very aggressive, physical guard that can rebound and pass and plays with a ton of confidence. In such an odd draft that lacked consensus top talent, I could see him making a real push as the potential best player in the draft. If he started the college season as a Top 5 recruit I think he would have been a Top 5 pick this year.
Bronny is legitimately professional level good at video games. He could probably make about the same money playing video games full time as he does in the NBA.
I just can't get that upset that the kid of the greatest basketball ever is getting a shot. Udonis Haslem cashed checks and took up a roster spot for almost 10 years despite not being an NBA player. Thanasis has been clogging up a spot on Milwaukees bench for 5 years now. There are many other examples of guys getting a paycheck for reasons other than their ability to put the ball in the basket or defend on the perimeter.
Well, you’ve convinced me that Bronny is the Michael Jordan of basketball. I mean he is the baseball Michael Jordan of basketball.
I was only able to watch the end, and it's my first time watching Watson play, but on his block and a couple chase down rebounds there are shades of DWhite in his game.
If Watson could become, say, a 36-percent 3-pointer, he'd be a nice piece at the end of the bench. He seems to have a well-rounded game.
Genetics alone make Bronny a better use of a summer league roster spot, or even a late second-round pick, than your typical guy who’d get that opportunity. I get that he’s showing no signs of being a useful NBA player, but neither are most of these guys. I understand why it rubs @reggiecleveland the wrong way, but NBA clubs aren’t in the fairness business.
Shifting gears…
Does anyone else think we’re seeing better ball movement this summer than in years past? Players are usually unselfish in transition, even in summer league, but in the half court offense it has historically been all heroball. My son and I used to count the passes; it was uncommon to have more than one in a possession, and legit rare to have more than two. There seems to be a lot more passing this year — not as much as in a regular-season NBA game, but some heroball is to be expected when you’ve got a bunch of guys who haven’t played or practiced much together, never mind that most of them are desperate to get noticed. It’s better team play, and it’s making the games a bit more watchable.
Am I imagining this?
IMO, Thanasis invalidates everyone clutching their pearls about Bronny.
Thanasis is a joke and was never an NBA prospect. He’s also a complete clown on the bench. At least Bronny seems like a good kid who will just sit on the bench and not threaten to run on the court and fight at every somewhat hard foul
I too didn't watch and would love some color. The box score stuff is intriguing but...
Summer League - makes random dudes look fine.
The last 30 seconds of that Suns-Thunder game were classic — two wide-open 3s, then a terrific post play to put the Thunder up 2 with 2.1 seconds left, then a foul on a 3-point heave where the Suns’ shooter sank all 3 FTs with 0.3 seconds remaining to win the game. Hard to cram that much bad play in such a short window.
how often do they actually uncover talent via Summer League? I'm talking about players who:
- had no previous NBA or high level pro experience (including G League)
- were not recent draftees (though they might've been drafted a few years prior, fell off the radar and then got back on it)
- ended up making a team and having a nontrivial NBA career (subjective)
I can't think of any off the top of my head, but there must be some. Like if the non contract, non-drafted folks on our roster popped - maybe Ramsey or House looked awesome, earned an invite to training camp from Detroit, get signed to a two-way, and fight their way up to a thousand minutes in the league. Something like that.
- had no previous NBA or high level pro experience (including G League)
- were not recent draftees (though they might've been drafted a few years prior, fell off the radar and then got back on it)
- ended up making a team and having a nontrivial NBA career (subjective)
I can't think of any off the top of my head, but there must be some. Like if the non contract, non-drafted folks on our roster popped - maybe Ramsey or House looked awesome, earned an invite to training camp from Detroit, get signed to a two-way, and fight their way up to a thousand minutes in the league. Something like that.
Thanasis is absolutely still in the league because of his brother, but once upon a time someone clearly thought he was a real prospect (unless you think the Knicks drafted him because they were hoping that Giannis, who had just averaged 6.8 ppg and finished 7th in the ROY voting, would want to go to play for them in 6-7 years). He never did anything in the NBA but he spent years playing in Europe and the G League, far more than grunt work than Bronny's one miserable year at USC.
They are both jokes right now. The difference is that Thanasis wasn't a joke for the first half of his professional career, while Bronny still has a chance to one day not be a joke.
While Thanasis' continued presence on a NBA roster is soley due to nepotism, the idea that he was never an NBA prospect is ahistorical.
He was drafted in 2014 in the late second by the Knicks, not the Bucks. Giannis was not Giannis in 2014. He had just finished averaging under seven points a game in 2013-2014 season. He finished seventh in ROY voting. The Knicks did not have a hidden agenda in drafting Thanais in the late second. He was precisely the kind of lottery ticket a team takes at the end of the second. He did not get any significant guaranteed money. He spent nearly of all him time with the Knicks in the then D-League, where he played for a few years before going back to Greece.
I know this is the subject of dispute around here but I will always maintain that before the heart attack, Bronny was a better prospect than Thanasis ever was.
Agree with the rest of your post though
I was there for Jeremy Lin and he was definitely one. The kid from Harvard looked like an NBA player that summer and nobody had heard of him. Another was Anthony Morrow who was undrafted and put on a scoring clinic to get into the NBA.
I don’t believe so. We signed him to a multi-year contract from his Germany EuroLeague team before he even came to the states.
Two great examples HRB, thanks.
Wiki says he had played 4 pro seasons in Germany's top division, when he got an invite to play for the Wizards' summer league team in 2014. He then went back to Germany, played another 3 seasons, after which he signed with the Celtics' big team in 2017 for a 2-year fully-guaranteed rookie min deal. So while he wasn't drafted, I'm not sure it was the summer league that put him on the NBA's radar, because he went back to Germany for 3 years afterwards (the last 2 of them winning the German title) before Danny came calling.
I will let this rest after this, but I think the biggest reason people have a problem with Bronny, is because he is Lebron's kid. They view this as more of GM Lebron having his way regardless of how it affects the rest of the team. I just find that argument a bit shallow, for if instead of Lebron's kid, the Celtics drafted Tatum's cousin, or half brother, or whatever, there wouldn't be a cry here about how that pick is yanking an opportunity away from some other deserving player.
The NBA is a business (obviously) and sometimes teams will employ players/staff/coaches who may not be the most qualified, but will further some goal. Be it a players kid, or a coaches brother, or a GM's nephew.
The NBA is a business (obviously) and sometimes teams will employ players/staff/coaches who may not be the most qualified, but will further some goal. Be it a players kid, or a coaches brother, or a GM's nephew.
I was at an AAA game and was talking to the players. One guy was around 27 and honestly told us he had a plus curve and he was there to provide practice for the prospects to develop. He said he had never sniffed the 40 man and knew his role. Summer league is where dreamers bust their ass to let NBA prospects and young bench guys play some games to develop. But, the cannon fodder can earn money in other leagues if they play well. Lot so f agents around trying to get players and scouts looking for import players.
Don't worry guys, Gilbert Arenas has a winning argument for all the haters.
View: https://twitter.com/TheDunkCentral/status/1813741175280742678
There's definitely not 20 obvious things wrong with that point.
View: https://twitter.com/TheDunkCentral/status/1813741175280742678
There's definitely not 20 obvious things wrong with that point.
Gilbert Arenas is astoundingly stupid. He's definitely trying to do "takez" for engagement, but I also think he's just a dumb human being.
I listened to him talk about why Kobe Bryant is so beloved and he said it was because it was all work ethic and Kobe had below average athleticism. He was talking about Kobe like he was Jon Konchar when he entered the league and just willed himself to end up where he did.
A 6’6 athletic freak who was picked third shooting 5-26 in his first three SL games is a lot different than Bronny.
Arenas was a dumbass as a player, wouldn’t expect different now.
Arenas was a dumbass as a player, wouldn’t expect different now.
On some pod, Arenas was talking about how ridiculous it was he fell in the draft and said something along the lines of "Richard Jefferson got picked before me. Richard Jefferson!! Come on now!!"
Jefferson then posted a video talking about a litany of stupid shit that Arenas did during the draft process and painted him to be a completely stupid wild card. It was a very entertaining video
Bronny would be better served interning with FSG than the Lakers, and learning the ins and outs of sports franchise finance, as it seems that may be a more realistic career path for him than playing NBA ball.
He doesn't meet all the requirements you set out, but Seth Curry seemed to be on his way out of the league - or at best headed for a other season in G League - when he joined the Pelicans' Summer League team in 2015. The coach gave him a ton of run and talked him up in postgame interviews and Curry made the most of it. He signed a two-year deal with the Kings out of Summer League and has had a nice NBA career since.
Given the Thanasis/Bronny discussions in this thread, it's notable that Seth doesn't appear to have had a lot of help from Steph during his career.
It is funny watching folks circle the wagons around the kid, like any positive or negative Bronny-as-pro opinion is some kind of fucking referendum on Lebron himself. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.
I wonder how Bronny is being received by his teammates. He is a million miles from being able to be competitive in these games, yet he is starting every game and getting 25 minutes per night..and apparentky not hustling.
He has teammates that have put in the work and are begging for 5 minutes in a game so they can dive over a table hustling for a ball hoping they get seen by some second division team in Ubejkistan with the hopes they can keep their career going..
He has teammates that have put in the work and are begging for 5 minutes in a game so they can dive over a table hustling for a ball hoping they get seen by some second division team in Ubejkistan with the hopes they can keep their career going..
View: https://youtu.be/49TLHQOD3u0?si=jqNHlA-qr_091LOI
Would love to know what Gilbert did before the Natl Champ game
edit: I found Arenas' response. It's 30 minutes so I'm not listening to the whole thing but he did respond to the "night before the championship game allegation. Video spoilered.
Stuff about champiionship game starts at 17:00 approximately. For those who don't want to listen, Arenas claims that he tore a muscle in his shoulder/arm during the semi-finals; didn't think he would play in the championship game, and according to his recollection (and the recollection of other teammates), he was in bed "crying like a baby" that night.
View: https://youtu.be/rsL_SlMBahg?si=lj7aj20FoHDAfQd3
View: https://youtu.be/rsL_SlMBahg?si=lj7aj20FoHDAfQd3
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