Bronny James is only a month into his sophomore season with the Los Angeles Lakers and has already experienced a significant setback.
The USC product was recently demoted to the G-League following his disappointing early-season play and the Lakers’ improved health.
During a recent media session, James sent an 11-word message to head coach JJ Redick and the Lakers after the unfortunate late November demotion.
“I’m trying to focus now on bettering myself off the ball,” James stated Saturday.
“Me and JJ have talked about all the ball handlers on the parent team, so I have to learn how to be effective off the ball. Have a .5 mentality — shoot the ball when I have open shots and try to get better at that.”
James deserves credit for acknowledging his offensive shortcomings and vowing to make a noticeable change on that end of the floor.
The former No. 55 overall pick had numerous opportunities to be an effective catch-and-shoot contributor in his first start of the year against the Milwaukee Bucks.
However, James elected to play passively and turn down open perimeter shots, which didn’t sit well with Redick (let’s just say he urged James to let it fly when unguarded).
With James shooting 27.3% from three on the year, it’s reasonable to assume he’s experiencing confidence issues from beyond the arc.
Assuming the son of four-time NBA champion LeBron James takes his G-League development seriously and transforms into a respectable long-range shooting weapon, though, he should improve his chances of earning Redick’s trust and support moving forward.
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