Why the optics of drafting Bronny James are much worse than signing Keljin Blevins, Thanasis Antetokounmpo or Chris Smith

We all know there's more to it than merit when it comes to Bronny James donning a Lakers hat. This young man is now going to sign what could likely be a guaranteed NBA contract (as agent Rich Paul keeps stressing), making him millions of dollars from pursuing professional basketball.

The N word - nepotism - was always something that the sports world was able to stay relatively free of. At least, when it came to matters on the court. But it seems we've turned the corner for good (or bad?) this time around.

There are no two ways about it. Bronny James is not one of the 450 or even 510 best basketball players in the world. Actually, when it comes down to it, Bronny is not even close to a top 5,000 basketball player in the world. We're not gonna spend much time debating his basketball credentials when it's apparent that most of them are manufactured (looking at you, Jonathan Givony. And you, McDonald's).

However, there is something to be said about the optics of drafting an unproven player who was not the best player on even his high school team to the biggest basketball brand in the world.

Here's a non-exhaustive list of reasons why this is considerably worse than other open cases of nepotism:

#1. The Lakers drafted Bronny James, unlike the other names

It would be one thing if, like Neil Olshey of the Portland Trail Blazers, Rob Pelinka had signed his star player's family member after he went undrafted.

Keljin Blevins' basketball career, however forgettable it is, is something he was mostly able to create off his own ability. JR Smith's brother Chris Smith went through the process of joining a Summer League roster and competing before he was gifted his paycheck.

Thanasis Antetokounmpo, whose name comes up most prominently beside Bronny's in the nepotism discussion, was also drafted off the strength of his own draft profile. He was picked up by a Knicks team that saw potential in his tools after he exhibited them in the D-League. He came up the ranks the hard way.

None of this can be said about Bronny James' NBA venture. All we can see in the public eye is how he's fallen well short of the 'certified stud' status required to be a real, viable NBA draft pick.

#2 Thanasis Antetounmpo has demonstrable NBA-level skills

Say what you want about Thanasis Antetokounmpo being on the Bucks' current roster, but he absolutely can play. He has a specific role when brought onto the court - that of a disruptor unafraid of conflict.

Even so, he does have quite a few skills that he's consistently displayed - both in the USA and Greece. He's blessed with elite athleticism and length. He's a high-energy defender and is capable of guarding multiple positions

Thanasis is also an excellent rebounder and a real weapon in transition. Over the course of his five seasons, he has also marginally improved three-point shooting (34% in 2022-2023). He has the physicality and toughness that the Bucks' defensive culture needs. And he's always had this attitude.

'Scrubs' don't end up scoring 20+ points in multiple consequential NBA games. Thanasis is a far cry from even an NBA scrub, even if Bronsexual Twitter would claim otherwise.

#3 Bronny James was WOEFUL in college play

People have been saying 'Oh well, it's a miracle he even came back to play. Cut him some slack' after Bronny James made his USC debut in December. The team gave him an extended run as a starter after Isaiah Collier suffered a long-term injury.

Check the game log posted below and see if anything impressive jumps out.

Bronny James' USC game log

There's not a single game in Bronny's last seven weeks of college play when he notched double digits. There's not a single game here when he made any kind of impact at the D1 level.

If you squint and look hard enough, every player on the planet will flash some promise with the genetic toolkit that Bronny has been blessed with.

The troubling part of this is that he has not shown anything as a basketball player on a stage where you're supposed to dominate to earn a berth in the world's most elite league. He was easily one of the worst D1 players in a weak Pac-12 Conference.

#4 The Lakers did not need to pander to the LeBron James camp on drafting Bronny

If there is one brand in basketball that is bigger than LeBron, and always will be, it's the Los Angeles Lakers. Even though it may seem otherwise since Crypto.com Arena became his stomping grounds in 2018, the Lakers will keep minting money even if they let LeBron go.

Their motivation for drafting Bronny was purely keeping LeBron James a Laker and sending him off into the sunlight. But they did not have to bend to every demand of his to do so. In doing so, they have compromised their brand's untouchable status worldwide.

People will be left thinking of them as a sorry franchise trying to cling to their latest all-time great in order to maintain their relevance on the modern NBA landscape.

For the neutral fans (who considerably outnumber Lakers fans worldwide), there's no reason to respect Rob Pelinka's pulling power as a GM anymore. If he can get played by just an agent like this, how would he be able to build his roster competing with 29 other GMs who will likely be way more vindictive?