Charles Barkley has joined a growing list of NBA figures criticizing the Los Angeles Lakers’ management of Bronny James, the rookie son of LeBron James.
On a recent appearance on The Bettor Angle, Barkley called the decision to have Bronny play only in home games for the South Bay Lakers “awful” and “stupid.”
“The kid is not ready to play in the NBA. He should be in the G-League so he can play basketball,” Barkley stated, via
Adam Zagoria of nj.com. He also took issue with the Lakers’ decision to limit Bronny’s G-League appearances to home games, emphasizing the negative impact on both the player and the team.
“It’s stupid, it’s not fair to him. It’s not fair to the team,” Barkley added. He further elaborated, imagining the difficulties a coach would face when a player is absent for long stretches due to road games.
“Can you imagine the coach of that team? You come off a road trip and you have a player you haven’t seen in a week or two. And then you probably feel like you gotta play him.”
Barkley concluded his critique by saying that the Lakers have mishandled Bronny’s development, calling it a “bad look” for both the franchise and LeBron himself. Despite his admiration for LeBron’s career, Barkley believes this situation reflects poorly on the entire organization.
The 20-year-old guard, standing 6-foot-2, has made six appearances for the Lakers this season, averaging just 0.7 points in 2.3 minutes per game.
In his two G League games, Bronny has shown more promise, averaging 5.0 points and 3.0 assists in 28.5 minutes of play.
