Charles Barkley Slams Lakers’ Handling of Bronny James: “It’s Stupid, It’s Not Fair to Him”

The Los Angeles Lakers have started their season with a 10-6 record as Thanksgiving approaches. While there haven’t been many distractions coming out of Los Angeles, the unique plan for Bronny James has left NBA media and personnel puzzled.

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Based on his performance during summer league and preseason, it was agreed that Bronny would spend time in the G League. After the team’s first road trip, reports indicated that Bronny would begin playing with the G League affiliate. However, a decision was made that he would only play home games. This unconventional arrangement, where Bronny is not living like a typical NBA player, could present challenges for his development.

Charles Barkley shared his criticism of the decision on the Better Angle podcast.

“This thing where he is only gonna play home games? It’s stupid,” Barkley said. “It’s not fair to him. It’s not fair to the team. Can you imagine the coach of that team? You come off a road trip and there’s a player you ain’t seen in a week or two. And then you feel like you probably gotta play him. I don’t think they are doing Bronny any favors, and they just handled this thing really bad. It’s a bad look for the Lakers, and I honestly think, I really like everything LeBron’s done. This is a bad look for him, in my opinion.”

From a developmental perspective, Bronny playing only half of the games for the G League team while riding the bench during road trips doesn’t appear to be the most beneficial opportunity for his first year.