Stephen A. Smith’s plea to LeBron James: ‘Stop’ letting Bronny play in NBA

Bronny James has been playing wonderfully in the G League. Like most second-round draft picks, the 20-year-old guard is not ready to play in the NBA and needs time excelling in an environment where he can gain confidence and develop his game without any pressure.

The fact that the Los Angeles Lakers braintrust still isn't fully committed to letting James prosper and progress in the G League is troubling. The NBA remains too tough of an assignment, and his deficiencies were once again on display in Tuesday's 118-104 road loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

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A night after scoring a career-high 31 points for the South Bay Lakers, James was recalled by the Lakers for their five-game road trip. With Gabe Vincent out for two games with a knee injury, head coach JJ Redick called on James in the first quarter with the hope of "him giving us energy" on the second game of a back-to-back.

It didn't go well. James' first meaningful minutes since the first weeks of the season began with him looking helpless trying to defend Sixers star guard Tyrese Maxey. In 15 minutes, James finished with zero points on 0-for-5 shooting and totaled three rebounds, one assist and three turnovers.

The No. 55 overall selection went scoreless for the ninth-straight time in the NBA. He's only scored four points in his 13 NBA games, averaging 0.3 points, 0.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists.

"Maybe (I) put him in a tough spot," Redick told reporters afterward.

Redick took the blame for playing James, but the real criticism should be directed at general manager Rob Pelinka for calling him up in the first place. Perhaps an intervention is required to make sure James no longer has his confidence battered by the world's best basketball players.

ESPN's Stephen A. Smith did his best to state the facts that Lakers brass appear to ignore. And he begged with James' dad to step in before his son's situation gets any worse.

"I am pleading with LeBron James as a father: Stop this," a solemn Smith said. "Stop this.

"We all know Bronny James is in the NBA because of his dad. The first game of the season, Opening Night, the Griffeys in attendance, father/son duo playing in an NBA game for the first time, an absolutely positively wonderful story. And then reality sets in."

Smith said he loves the progress of Bronny in the G League "because that's where you belong."

"I am rooting for Bronny James," Smith added. "It would be cruel to root against him. He's a wonderful kid. I wish him nothing but the best. But he's LeBron James' son. And everybody knows what attention that brings."

Smith then read the meager numbers Bronny has produced in the NBA so far and continued his plea to LeBron.

"You know what people are saying," Smith said to LeBron. "You know what they're gonna do to this kid."

"How are you doing him favors?" Smith asked incredulously. "You know that he's not ready yet."

LeBron James certainly has the power to tell Pelinka to keep his eldest son in the G League. Or perhaps it wasn't Pelinka's idea at all to call up Bronny, and it was someone else's idea.

And maybe, just maybe, that individual has the organizational sway of multiple All-Star appearances, league MVP awards and NBA championships to dictate what's best for Bronny James.

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