The average salary of a second-round draft pick in the NBA is $3 million to $8 million. Last year, two second-round draft picks, Jalen Pickett (32nd) and Chris Livingston (58th) signed $8.2 million and $7.6 million deals respectively. This year, Bronny James bagged a $7.9 million contract and suddenly the crowd went wild.

Why? Just because he’s the son of LeBron James? Or is it because Dalton Knecht is not getting a similar treatment? Or should the credit go to Rich Paul for securing a sweet deal for his client, Bronny James? All three of these are probably correct depending on the point of view. But according to rapper Ma$e, the reason is simple, a clear botch of a job from everyone involved.

Ma$e is known for being a hoop enthusiast and the ongoing controversy around Bronny James is worth his attention. To put the matter into perspective, the rapper discussed the matter on the “It Is What It Is” podcast with Cam’ron and Treasure Wilson. “You know, I wish Bronnie the best. It’s just, this is a messed up situation for several reasons that I don’t want to get too in-depth about, but I think it’s just people are handling it the wrong way. You know, it’s a better way to handle this. But I wish anybody’s child had made it to this point, nothing but success,” Ma$e said.

“When you say somebody’s gotten a seven point nine million deal for four years and a guy you drafted in the first round doesn’t has a contract yet, that’s where it’s going wrong. It’s not hate towards Bronny. It’s just how they’re going about it. That’s making it look bad. I’ve been in basketball since I was about seven years old and I’ve never seen a person get a multi-year deal with four points,” the 48-year-old said about the valuation of Bronny’s contract.

Knecht though belatedly signed a contract with the Lakers which is reportedly worth $18.4 million over four years, with $7.8 million guaranteed. For the shooting guard, who averaged 21.7 points in college, the deal presents reasonable value.

With Bronny set to have a roster spot next season, it is to be seen if his contractual value translates into his game. But Ma$e did not leave anything for imagination while providing a thorough assessment of Bronny’s first year in the league.

Ma$e discusses his vision for Bronny James and the Lakers

With Bronny James on the roster, and LeBron James extending his stay in LA, the expectations are high for the father-son duo on the court. Also, the fact that JJ Redick is at the helm and he has previously praised the 19-year-old guard indicates increased minutes on the hardwood for James Jr.

Ma$e has only one piece of advice for Bronny, “All you have to do is not mess up and don’t beat yourself. Cause you already got LeBron, you got AD. Now there’s other guy that they got that’s a shooter (D’Angelo Russell). So if you, if you are anyway a slasher and you can dish out the people, you can have a field day on this team, especially you guys shooters all around you.”

“You got Austin (Reaves), then you got the new white boy (Knecht). And I think a player that everybody is forgetting about is Doug Christie, son (Max). I forgot I forgot his name, but he’s dead nice. Like I think his number 10 or something like that. That team be, it’ll be easy to play on that team,” Ma$e concluded.

With the Lakers looking into the market to strengthen the team further, this should be an exciting time for the Lakers. But everything that good looks on paper doesn’t look good on the court. At the moment, the Lakers roster doesn’t look good enough and certainly, Bronny James is not the fix the Lakers were looking for. 

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