After a hailstorm of criticism and scrutiny, Bronny James finally made it to the Lakers on the 2nd night of the 2024 NBA Draft. While his college basketball record raises a lot of questions about his potential, the LA side was never in doubt. On the other end, Dalton Knecht, the 17th overall pick, was regarded as a steal by the franchise. But going into the season, his fortune looks contrasting just like his white clothing to James Jr.’s all-black attire during the draft pick’s introduction press conference and photo session.

As the press conference proceeded, it was revealed that the California Summer League would be the starting point for both Bronny and Dalton, with Dane Johnson, the South Bay Lakers HC, coaching them. After that, their courses might veer away.

Bronny James and Dalton Knecht’s contrasting fortune surfaces

According to Keith Smith of Spotrac, the Lakers have officially signed Dalton Knecht, who now cannot be traded for 30 days. So after that period, the youngster might become a sacrificial piece for the Lakers in the trade market. However, these are just speculations at the moment. Another reporter, Trevor Lane took commented that Smith was just stating a clause that comes with every rookie deal.

As we think about it even more, that direction will certainly not be the case for Bronny. Shams Charania also reported that the Lakers plan to sign a multiyear guaranteed rookie contract with Bronny and he will remain on the franchise’s roster next season. With LeBron James present at the press conference, Bronny was asked about his conversation before stepping foot in the NBA. Keeping it simple, he revealed, “We haven’t gone too deep into that stuff yet, especially because we haven’t even started summer league yet”.

“But just stuff that he’s been telling me my whole life, just having that work ethic and coming in and getting it working and listening to your coaches and being coachable, stuff like that, is he’s driven into my head my whole life,” the youngster said. So it is quite safe to assume that as long as LeBron is in Lakers’ colors, his son won’t be treated as a sacrificial piece.But for Knecht, the same cannot be said. Even Rob Pelinka and JJ Redick tried to refrain from revealing the massive cat out of the bag, but it was seemingly a tame effort of damage control.

JJ Redick and Rob Pelinka defended Bronny James scenarios

Right off the bat, HC JJ Redick wanted to make things clear and put a proverbial full stop to all the doubts. Apart from Bronny’s NBA debut, it is also a beginning for Redick. Despite their 21-year gap, both of them are somehow intertwined thanks to their circumstances as newcomers. So his focus on Bronny seemed ironic, as if he was backing a reflection of him sitting next to himself.

“With Bronny I just wanted to clarify one thing you just said, which is Rob (Pelinka) and I did not give Brony anything. Bronny has earned this right. Bronny talks about his hard work, Bronny has earned this through hard work,” Redick clarified.

To develop a player like him, the franchise has their own plan and Redick touched on that as well. “For us prioritizing player development, we view Bronny as like case study one because his base level of feel, athleticism, point of attack defender, shooting, passing, there’s a lot to like about his game and as we sort of build out our player development program holistically, he’s going to have a great opportunity to become an excellent NBA player,” the Lakers HC told the gathered press.

But the more pressing matter at hand for the Lakers is their activity in the trade market. With most of their targets slipping away one after another, the franchise’s lethargic approach was questioned during the press conference.

Sweeping things under the rug, Pelinka only tooted about the state of the market. Referring to the collective bargaining agreement and penalties for teams for tax apron violations, Pelinka said, “Does it make good trades impossible? No,” but indicated that the Lakers will remain aggressive. How aggressive? Don’t be surprised to see ‘Dalton Knecht traded-type aggression’ after a month or so.

They were most recently reportedly pursuing Klay Thompson behind the scenes while LeBron was also willing to take a paycut to accommodate more talent on the roster. However, the native sharpshooter preferred Doncic‘s dream with Mavs more than the Lakers.

While they now seem to be behind DeMar DeRozan, who also shoots above 30% from deep range, that seems to be the filter behind the next trade the franchise will make. Being a sharpshooter himself, it isn’t surprising that JJ Redick would want to stack up that aspect of the team first, before anything else.

Stay tuned for more such updates, and to follow what brand maker, Leonard Armato, had to say about the deadly duo, Shaq and Kobe, check out this video