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Jaylen Brown was seen speaking on NBA rookie Bronny James this offseason as he struggles through summer league. The Boston Celtics forward appeared to put James down given his slow start as a pro.
While many may agree with that take, former hooper Gilbert Arenas is telling folks to pump the brakes. He used Brown’s own summer league performance as evidence that things can get better!
Let’s take a step back to the beginning.
The Los Angeles Lakers used their 55th pick to select Bronny James in the most recent NBA Draft despite his recent health scare and largely pedestrian college production. That decision led to immediate criticism as fans cried nepotism due to his father, LeBron’s, status with the team.
Fast forward to Bronny’s debut, much of that criticism was seemingly confirmed as he shot just 2-9 from the field. Things have gotten worse before getting better as he’s gone a combined 0-15 from beyond the arc to this point.
That led Jaylen Brown to suggest that James wasn’t NBA ready.
“I don’t think Bronny is a pro.”
He later apologized for the comment, which was captured on video and quickly blasted across social media.
Gilbert Arenas believes he should be sorry for the remark, saying that Bronny can improve as his career progresses. He used Brown as the model example on Wednesday.
Gilbert Arenas brought out the receipts!
“Jaylen Brown. Do you know what they said about him in summer league?” he asked. “He was the 3rd pick in the NBA Draft… The first three games, just like Bronny, Bronny was 6-26, and Jaylen Brown was 5-26 from the field in his first three games in summer league…
“No one bashed him… He was the third pick in the NBA Draft, and nobody put any pressure on him.”
Arenas isn’t jumping on the ‘Bash Bronny’ bandwagon! He wants to give him time to develop and continue meshing with his new Los Angeles Lakers team.
Using Brown as his example was the ultimate power move. Let’s hope that James sees a similar turnaround.