It’s no doubt that Bronny James’ draft triggered festivities across the Lakers nation. At the same time, the 19-year-old’s entry received an equal amount of backlash. Firstly, many sided with the emotion that he wasn’t ready for the league, especially after averaging 4.8 points in his freshman year. Secondly, many argued that the LA Lakers didn’t organically draft the star but “carefully crafted” it. Moreover, Nike, the Lakers’ $113 billion-worth business partner, and its blunder solidified the accusation.
Ben Maller, a Fox Sports veteran, went on a ranting spree and called out the Lakers owner, Jeanie Buss, for her incompetence. When the Lakers and LeBron James remained silent on the accusation surrounding Bronny’s draft, Maller proved it to the world with evidence. He added, “Let me give you my evidence here. After Bronny James was selected by the Lakers, a business partner of the Lakers… Nike quickly released a new ad for Bronny, highlighting his journey to the NBA.” This was enough for Maller to conclude that the Lakers “crafted” the draft rather than picking the players based on talent.
Maller didn’t stop at that, he further went to throw a spade at the youngster, loaded with pop culture references. He trolled Bronny James and asked him to “quote Red Sox Legend Pedro Martinez ‘Who’s your daddy’” when someone asked him how he managed to get drafted despite a poor freshman year run.
Moreover, the veteran sports commentator traced the overall Bronny James draft back to Jeanie Buss. He considered Buss’ action of letting the Lakers draft James Jr. as a “testimonial to the incompetence.” Maller sounded surprised by the draft and he “thought the Lakers could not get any more embarrassing”. However, on the other end, Bronny’s draft was a long time in the making. Fans saw it as an opportunity to witness the first father-son duo on the court.
Rich Paul admits to nepotism claim
The accusation didn’t end with Ben Maller. Many argued that the Lakers drafted Bronny James because LeBron James influenced the team and the league. Interestingly, the 19-year-old’s agent, Rich Paul, when asked about it, didn’t restrict himself from admitting it. Hours after the draft, Paul returned to LA after the private dinner event with the James family in New York.
The moment Paul arrived at the airport, a reporter caught hold of Paul for an interview and fired him up with uncomfortable questions regarding Bronny James. Paul, trying to evade the questions, said, “He deserves to be in the NBA. Lot of different people say lot of different things… Often times when things happen in a positive way, people decide how they want to view it.”
However, at one point, Paul couldn’t hold it any longer and argued that Bronny’s parents worked hard to provide a better opportunity for their son and said, “If that’s nepotism, then so be it.” Nevertheless, whatever is done is done. Now, it’s up to Bronny James to make everyone forget about these accusations with his performance on the court.
