Lakers News: JJ Redick assesses Bronny James' Summer League performance

Lakers's Redick Mentors Rising Defensive Star Bronny James

Author:
William Frost
Jul 13, 2024 6:05 PM EDT

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Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers' new head coach, JJ Redick, has shared his thoughts on rookie Bronny James' performance in the Summer League. Despite not coaching the Summer League team, Redick was present at the Lakers' first game in Las Vegas, which ended in a 99-80 loss to the Houston Rockets.

Redick discussed his expectations for the 6-foot-4 rookie, who has shown inconsistency on offense in his three healthy games so far. Redick emphasized the importance of defensive play, noting that James had several standout defensive moments in the last game of the California Classic. Redick has been focusing on ball pressure and defensive disruption in his conversations with the team, encouraging James to be aggressive on defense.

"I thought the last game of the Cali Classic, defensively he was terrific," Redick said of James. "He had eight or nine possessions where, whether it was his ball pressure or switching, just making plays defensively, that's been a real point of emphasis in all my conversations in the times I have been with the team on the practice floor. We want him pressuring the ball. I told him yesterday, 'If you get blown by, if you have ten fouls, that's on me. I want you on the ball.'"

"What I'd like to see is a lot of ball pressure," Redick said. "We were at the Canada-USA exhibition, [and] obviously I'm not comparing Bronny at 19 to Lu Dort, who's an All-NBA defender, but you watch that game, and Lu Dort or Jrue Holiday — there's eight or nine possessions a game where they just completely take the offense out of what they're trying to do because of their disruptiveness."

Jul 12, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James (9) competes during the second half against the Houston Rockets at the Thomas & Mack Center.

In the recent game against the Rockets, James scored eight points on 3-of-14 shooting but continued to show promise on the defensive end. As the son of 20-time All-Star LeBron James, Bronny is under significant scrutiny, but Redick's focus on defense suggests a clear developmental path for the young player.