Too much has been written about the Lakers’ decision to draft Bronny James with the 55th pick. But let’s sit back and look at things objectively. How many players drafted late in the second round have contributed significantly to their team, at least in their first few years? There were only three players drafted after Bronny was drafted, and I don’t think any of those three were on any team’s radar. So, if there was a player the Lakers were interested in, there was a good chance they could have signed him after the draft. It was a historic pick! A father and son got the chance to play together. It gave LeBron James the gift of watching his son get drafted, and few sacrifices were made to make their dream of playing together come true.
Steve Kay
Oro Valley, Arizona
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Everyone, why don’t you take a breather?
First off, I’m not a big LeBron James fan, but I’ve learned to accept the inevitable. LeBron got where he is today after 20 seasons of success and is leading the Lakers. The great Dr. Bus is no more. So, let’s do something good on a human level. Is Bronny a superstar? Of course not. But he’s a good kid. Despite growing up in a fishbowl, he’s had zero bad press or drama. Not by his choice, but he handled it with maturity and calm. Oh yeah, he had his heart issues too. Let’s let this father-son relationship end like that, because we’ll never see it again.
Jeff Heister
Chatsworth
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Regarding the overwhelming scrutiny awaiting Lakers rookie Bronny James, columnist Bill Plaschke claims that “he doesn’t want any of this.” This puzzling statement raises the question: Who, if not James Jr. himself, decided it was time for the relatively unknown USC recruit to enter the 2024 NBA Draft?
Rob Fleischmann
Placenta
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The Dallas Mavericks should sign Michael Thompson to a one-day contract and have him and Klay start in the opener of the 2024-25 NBA season, making them the first father and son to play together in the NBA.
Paul Kawaguchi
Rosemead
The rich are getting richer and the Lakers are getting poorer.
Thankfully, LeBron gets another $104 million in his latest contract. It’s a shame that some of that money could have been used to help the Lakers build a quality roster around him and Anthony Davis. When comparing his salary to other NBA stars, I think true title winning (at a discount, like Tom Brady) takes a back seat. I think a billionaire would be open to that sort of thinking. I can’t wait to hear about the Lakers shopping the discount racks the rest of the summer.
Matt Kingsbury
Simi Valley
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Unfortunately, Bill Plaschke’s prediction that the Lakers are “on the brink of another era of dead teams” seems pretty accurate, and the comparisons to the players surrounding LeBron James and Kobe Bryant in the twilight years of their careers are rather apt (though it’s good to see Dalton Knecht joining the Lakers).
Plus, next season’s Western Conference is going to be even tougher, and I hate to say it, but the 18-time champion Boston Celtics seem a lot closer to winning another one than the Lakers.
Ken Feldman
Tarzana
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Living on a $52 million annual salary for the next two years is going to be tough for LeBron James. But more importantly, in an era when superstar athletes in every sport are taking pay cuts or deferrals to help run their teams and make them better, James is signing a max contract while cutting into the Lakers’ ability to cut pay. I think that tells you everything you need to know about LeBron. Instead of writing his name on the back of his jersey, just print “Me First.”
Jack Nelson
Los Angeles
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We’ve all heard the definition of insanity: …Lakers, don’t sign a contract worth $50 million a year and not have a team.
Kelly Mark Ritchie
Calabasas
Redick: Lakers assist leader
While there may be some doubts about new Lakers head coach JJ Redick, congratulations must go to him for negotiating the largest “assistant” coaching contract in sports history. He’s clearly smarter than you think.
Gary Corner
Covina
Let’s be honest about the Clippers’ GM.
I get why all the attention is on Rob Pelinka, but why did the Times ignore Lawrence Frank’s long-running poor job with the Clippers? This team is unlikely to stay in the play-in for the next five years with a now-failed Kawhi Leonard and a slew of surplus players. But at least they’ll have great draft picks… oh, and he traded all of them in the Paul George trade. Proof of this delusion is that Frank, when asked, said he’d trade again!
David Bialis
San Diego
Good points bad points…
It’s hard not to love the Dodgers. Mike DiGiovanna’s “Dodgers Turn Slackers Into Relief Pitchers” was hilarious. Banda, Ramirez, Phillips, Brazier, Almonte, Kolarek, Morrow, Petersen, and Bruhl all benefited from joining the Dodgers. This is such a heartwarming story that it should be made into a movie, or at least a “30 for 30” episode, especially if the Dodgers win the World Series.
Vaughn Hardenberg
Westwood
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Manager Dave Roberts and the Dodgers need to be reminded that there is such thing as an “intentional walk.” Losing two straight series to teams with a sub-.500 record and giving up 23 runs in the final three games doesn’t bode well for the Blue Boys’ playoff hopes.
Mike Schaller
Temple City
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Sure, the Dodgers have a big payroll and three of the biggest names in baseball, but looking at this team, I don’t think they’re in the playoff picture. I know the pitchers have been hit with injuries, but there are no excuses, especially for the walk to the leadoff batter and the big innings they allowed after the first two batters were out. With so many hitters trying to hit .200, big offensive innings are hard to come by. I keep waiting for things to change, but I hope it won’t be in vain.
Alan Abadjan
Alta Roma
I ended it like this for fun.
Football is played 11-on-11 for 90-120 minutes. If there’s still a tie, they play an entirely separate 1-on-1 game to determine a winner. What if other major sports broke ties like football does? NFL: Longest Field Goal. MLB: Home Run Derby. NBA: HORSE Game. NASCAR: Parallel Parking.
Dave Eng
Thousand Oaks
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