Lakers Will Sacrifice Bronny James' NBA Dreams, As Long As They Get A Feel-Good Story Out Of It

The Lake Show has turned into a clown show, and Bronny James walks through the doors believing he'll be showtime when, in fact, he's doomed to get booed off the stage.

Expectations are dour when it comes to the Los Angeles Lakers' second-round pick. The kid is too green for the NBA, yet here he is, playing for a marquee franchise plainly due to the narrative he and his dad, LeBron James, wanted to create: becoming the first father-and-son duo to play pro basketball side-by-side.

It's certainly a sweet moment.

On Sunday, LeBron and Bronny shared the court for the first time in a preseason matchup against the Phoenix Suns, which the Lakers lost, 118-114, and Bronny left without scoring a point (just four turnovers and two rebounds in 13 minutes).

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - Bronny James and LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers warm up prior to the game against the Phoenix Suns at Acrisure Arena on October 6, 2024. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

Bronny has not usurped anything more than the "project" title, and calling him a prospect with the potential to make the pros is generous. 

ESPN's Baxter Holmes chronicled Bronny's days of working out for NBA scouts to his eventual introduction to the team before the NBA media at the Lakers' training facility in El Segundo, Calif.

The sentiments there, from workouts to Lakers training, echoed the same concern about Bronny's undercooked skill set, with the palpable sense that Bronny was drafted in the second round purely due to his connection as LeBron's son.

"The expectations for Bronny by the fan base and by LeBron and Rich Paul are not commensurate with the reality of his game," one Eastern Conference executive said in Holmes' report. "If they had any real idea of how far