JJ Redick Believes Bronny James Will Wind Up Being A Role Player, Names The NBA Players He’s Similar To

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While JJ Redick said he would no longer be podcasting due to his new role as head coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, radio interviews are apparently still fair game.

Clearly still having a bit of provocative podcaster in him, Redick made some headlines on Tuesday when he appeared on Sirius XM NBA Radio, where he was obviously asked about controversial second-round draft pick Bronny James.

The son of future Hall of Famer LeBron James has struggled mightily in the NBA Summer League thus far — on Monday night, in fact, Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown was caught on camera saying he doesn’t believe Bronny is “a pro.”

Redick, however, does believe Bronny is a pro (at least when speaking publicly), and a specific pro at that, as he compared him to Oklahoma City Thunder guard Luguentz Dort

“We were at the Canada-USA basketball exhibition game,” Redick said. “And I turned to one of our assistant coaches during the game. And I said, ‘I think Lu Dort just single-handedly broke up the eighth possession of the game,” Redick said.

“His impact — you [his opponent] can’t get into your offense. Sometimes, the shot clock winds down because of his ball pressure. He literally blows up entire plays because of that pressure. And I really believe this. Bronny will eventually be that guy.”

“He is a development player, that’s how we are looking at Bronny. He’s certainly going to spend time with the Lakers. He will spend time as well in the G League. As we sort of build out our player-development program, he’s going to be an important part of that.”

Last season, Dort was a starter for the Thunder, who were the #1 seed in the Western Conference. While he avergaed career-highs in field-goal percentage and three-point percentage, he averaged just 10.9 points, 3.6 rebounds, and 1.4 assists.