[FULL] Los Angeles Lakers introduce Bronny James, Dalton Knecht | NBA on ESPN

[FULL] Los Angeles Lakers introduce Bronny James, Dalton Knecht | NBA on ESPN

welcome everybody this is a a day to be incredibly grateful for um and Incredibly excited about most importantly because we’re launching the NBA careers of two fine young men bronnie James and Dalton connect this is day one we’re going to go from here to taking these chairs away taking the cameras away and and having a practice and getting ready for summer league and that’s what Dalton and bronnie are about these are two men of High character and hard work ethic those are the qualities we look for at the Lakers when we draft players and it’s a testament to how bronny was raised by LeBron and Savannah and how Dalton was raised by Carrie and Corey um and that means a lot to us so we’re gonna take some questions and then get ready to go kick some butt in summer league uh Dalton if we could start with you we got to see your reaction up on the stage and kind of go through that moment what have these last couple days been like for you and conversations with Rob or your your new coach JJ and just that kind of building excitement as you start your NBA career uh it’s been exciting you know uh meeting them in person not only just through the phone and it’s been a fun Journey cuz you know like I said earlier my Journey’s been different and coming here to a historic franchise it’s going to be fun can’t wait to get to work and then to follow up with bronnie just that that moment right where you get the phone call and then you hear your name can you take us through the emotions of all of that and what you were feeling and then how you’ve been feeling the last couple days since yeah everything’s just been surreal um trying to take it all in by the days um extremely you know grateful for everything that um JJ and and Rob have given to me um yeah and I’ve just been extremely excited to get to work yeah bronnie Jim Hill kk9 what have been some of the preliminary conversations you’ve had with your father about what’s expected in the NBA and and and what you can expect to hear and see once you start playing um you know we haven’t gone too deep into that stuff yet especially because we haven’t even started summer league yet um but you know just stuff that he’s been telling me my whole life just having that that work ethic and and coming in and and getting your work in and listening to your coaches and being coachable stuff like that is he’s you know driven into my in my head my whole life guys Dan wiky from the LA Times uh couple questions JJ first for you um going through your first draft what did you like about Dalton and and bronnie and um what was it like having them be the first two players that you were able to help select yeah I mean I was first of all I was thrilled to be in the draft room it was a very amazing experience for me um we didn’t think Dalton would be available at 17 um but he provided something uh that we just don’t have you know he’s a he’s a movement shooter he can obviously play off the bounce we viewed him very highly on our draft board and he can score at all three levels he’s got size there was a lot of things to be excited about with Dalton and I’m excited to coach him with bronny I just I want to clarify one thing you just said which is Rob and and and I did not give bronnie anything bronnie has earned this right bronnie talks about his hard work bronnie has earned this through hard work and for us prioritizing Player Development uh we view bronnie 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 uh as we sort of build out our player development program holistically um he’s going to have a great opportunity to become an excellent NBA player and and then my second question for for both of you guys for Dalton and bronie um this organization has talked a lot about Player Development here over the last month or so um what are your expectations for yourselves starting with summer league in terms of playing both in Sacramento and in Vegas and kind of what you’re hoping to gain um between now and the start of the season um I think it’s going to be a lot of fun just uh getting out on the court with all the guys and you know the first couple days learning from JJ he’ll be there and uh start start the season you know go to the summer league and hopefully go win that and then just go on and uh get the regular season started uh for me um probably just you know getting a feel for the game especially at at the next level um but just excited to go out there and compete with some some you know great players and uh being able to you know take this time to to get ready for you know what to come U Dave MCB with ESPN welcome to Dalton and barani um I want to start with JJ just in terms of like Logistics here who’s going to be coaching the California classic and are your two rookies going to be playing up there and also in Vegas yeah so uh danne Johnson will be coaching uh the California classic and summer league I will be heavily involved in practices I will also be involved in some capacity during the games during film all of that um you know it’s it’s we talk about development it’s an incredible opportunity for danne and his staff to develop further um for me uh I have to sort of prioritize a bunch of different things right now including building out a staff um uh but you know for both these guys we we expect them to play uh in both the California classic and in Las Vegas and then just a question for both the rookies start with Dalton um how’s it been from the moment I guess Wednesday till now like what what’s the world will Whirlwind been like for you um to be honest I have no clue I just uh trying to just take it all in as much as I can and enjoy the moment meet uh all the guys Rob and JJ and obviously I met bronnie and just start meeting some teammates like braon and AD and get to know those guys and learn from them and bronnie you played one year at USC and joined the team you know after the season already be began what about the time to come into this year’s draft compelled you to make that decision and then how much of a consideration was while my father’s still an active player um for me you know I always try to put that Narrative of me trying to get my name out for myself um but just coming in and trying to get better um you know Rob has told me that there’s a great development system here so I just want to come in and and get my work in and and get better every day um but I never really had a thought of you know me going to play with my dad but that’s always you know there to you know take part of but it wasn’t a main focus of M to do hey guys over here uh Yoon bua with the athletic uh one question for each of you just uh entering the league as as rookies what area of your game are you looking to work on most coming in this summer uh for me probably just creating my own shot um you know I feel like I know how to play the game already and play the right way um but just being more aggressive on the offense end and and creating my shot CU I know that’s what I can do um so yeah just just being more aggressive I’d say the same thing just go in be aggressive uh be ready to make some shots and then just uh show my allaround game is one thing just show all around and be a complete player Kobe price Southern California news group got one for both you guys uh bronnie first kind of going off of what you just said um because of the time you had to take off um at USC do you feel like there were parts of your game you weren’t able to Showcase as much because of that and do you feel like you know once you’re able to I guess get back on the court Mor consens Le through summer league you can I guess reestablish the offens Rhythm you may not have had at USC yeah yeah for sure um the time that I had off I feel like I could have been perfecting my game more um yeah I just feel like I’ve I’ve been given an opportunity to you know showcase what I can really do cuz I wasn’t given that much of an opportunity at SC so you know I I I’m excited for for what is to go and for you dson you kind of mentioned this I think in in New York uh you studied JJ uh while while in college J uh Rob you’ve mentioned that JJ was drawing up plays for dson uh right if you guys drapped him is there an added excitement or element of excitement just knowing that you know you’ll be able to pick the brain of one of the you know best shooters that league has seen yeah for sure uh me and uh coach Barnes we watched a lot of JJ reck and how he comes off screens uh gets openings creating space even before he runs off the screen so I’m excited just to learn from him and see how he sees the game Bill plasy Los Angeles Times this is for bronnie how much more pressure is on you playing on a team with your father and how you how you going to handle that pressure um for sure the Amplified amount of pressure um I’ve already seen it stuff media and stuff on the in the internet and stuff talking about I um might not deserve an opportunity but you know I’ve been dealing with stuff like this for my whole life um so it’s it’s it’s nothing different but it’s it’s it’s more Amplified for sure but I get through it hi JJ uh Mark Medina good to see you again um I understand this part might be fluid but at least initially what do you envision what that player development program will look like specifically for Dal and Brony yeah I think just in general uh the player development program we’re trying to build is is holistic I think often times when people talk about Player Development they talk about uh ball handling and shooting and passing and and certainly the mechanics of playing basketball are an important part of player player development um but it’s also tactical uh it’s about reads it’s about incorporating film incorporating analytics um you know we will hopefully in the next few days or couple weeks hire a director of player development program that sees my vision it’s nutrition it’s uh how you take care of your body your your work in the weight room um there’s also I think a big part of Player Development and it’s for someone who has lived in this league a long time a big part of this is is the mental development and all the ups and downs that come I you know had a chance to spend a few minutes with Dalton uh this morning and one of the things we talked about is just being open minded having an openness and just letting go of outcomes and the thing that excites me about both these guys is that their basis of basketball is as workers and that’s a great starting point if you want to develop into a great NBA play not sure what’s going on with my mind uh this is for bronnie Daren Haynes Kow um you talked about writing your own story and I heard your father LeBron talk about that as well and and we we see him back here almost allowing you to have your own moment to write your own story how would you describe your story right now to be honest is living it it’s living by the days um trying not to you know care about whatever other people think about me because there’s a lot of people that you know have something to say um but yeah I’m just taking it by the day and and and staying saying like while doing it over here Michael with nbcla uh for Dalton and then one for bronnie quickly for Dalton as JJ said they didn’t think you’d be there at 17 a lot of people had you going top 10 is that going to allow you to play with a chip on your shoulder have you already remembered the teams and the players that got drafted ahead of you and for Bron now that you do know you’re going to be teammates with your dad how does your experience growing up pickup games you know all the videos we see you guys playing in the in the driveway help you uh as you guys learn to play together um I would say of course I know all the players and teams but um I’m just excited to be here in the right place and I’m excited just to get to work here and go out and compete uh yeah for me um just building that Foundation of of um playing the right way um like I said um just just being that that guy to be coachable and and you know play my role and you know keep working while I’m doing it bronnie um David pingalore KTLA being around obviously the NBA and your dad is the process going to be easier for you to get started knowing what to expect and what you grew up around I had my own basketball stuff going on so I wasn’t really you know in my dad’s pocket all day you know following them around the the Lakers facility um but yeah I I’ve had some stories but there’s not I don’t know what you know exactly is to come um so I have a question for each of you and then one for JJ um the numbers got to ask you Dalton you wore number three all the way down from high school all the way down now you got the nickname Connect 4 did you come up with that name and then also got to ask you bronnie um number nine when with the Lakers everyone thinks of Nick the Qui Nick Van Axel but with you it was a juice World um situation with you you have nine on the side of your ear too as well talk about that impact and then JJ for you when you see their shooting ability Braun and and um Austin Reeves and AD like running High splits how do you see them fitting in situations like high splits and pin Downs too as well um I knew eventually like I probably would have to run into number four but three’s been my number my whole life and then yeah three ad80 got it so why not do Connect Four why not uh yeah um juice has just been a a big part of uh you know me keeping calm and some situations that I’ve been through um so yeah just just paying homage to him um especially because he passed uh you know it’s a really important thing for me we’re back we’re back um yeah look I I think you have to surround your best players with SHO shooting in today’s NBA um spacing is at a premium um and as a coach you know there’s a a lot of plays that you don’t have control of it’s over half the offensive possessions right are coming off a make or a Miss um so it’s important that you also have players that have a good feel for the game and can read and react um you know we want to implement more structure uh and with structure you certainly need a high basketball I you uh but at times when there isn’t structure and you don’t have control uh you also just have to have a feel for the game and both these guys can shoot it uh and they have good feel rob a question for you you’re feeling left out um we’re we’re a couple days into free agency and I know you can’t speak specifically about players because of the moratorium but your your roster provided LeBron resigns as full um as current as it currently stands how aggressively are you looking to create space to to still improve this roster and I guess if you could speak to some of maybe the the roadblocks you guys have encountered here through the first 48 Hours yeah I think we’re gonna always be aggressive to trying to make roster upgrades and we’ll be relentless to continue to look at what we can do as you pointed out we have 15 14 guys under guaranteed contract with one space um and this is the season of being mindful of all the different things we can approach to improve the roster so we’re in the midst of that as we speak that’ll continue in the coming days and it often spills into you know Vegas where all the GMS meet and gather and other deals get done but yeah we’ll we’ll stay aggressive Roba followed that just on along the same lines but um you know we’ve talked about even at JJ directory press conference but the future draft picks that you guys have available to trade is this a situ ation where we could be like in years past where you continue to Canvas things up to February just knowing that you have that and just look for ways to improve yeah I think um if the right deal comes and we have to put in draft picks we will um I think we’ve talked about it before we’re we’re now in the apron World we’ve seen you know contending teams or Championship level teams have to lose players that’s that’s a result of the apron world we’re living in so does it make trades more challenging yes does it make good trades impossible no so we’ll continue to pursue upgrades to our roster yeah dton one for you just we heard about the the grow spurt that happened at a certain point in high school but kind of the Guard skills that you had built up when did you start to feel like combined with the height and go from Junior College to Colorado and then eventually to Tennessee when did you start to really uh think hey I could keep get going up to that next level in that confidence grew um I felt like I always had that ever since I touched the basketball I knew that I could do it just a matter of how and you know my journey is not like everybody else’s but that’s okay everybody else has a journey of their own so just created my path and yeah like I said Crea my path is something special and a lot of kids will look up to it so it’s really cool to write my own story for sure and then bronnie Robin talked about looking at your game and kind of the point of attack defense and and how that could really translate to the NBA level uh where how do you see that specifically with your game how have you worked on that and and do you think you also can kind of size up you know defend uh two three wing positions as well yeah I mean uh other people see me as a big kind of bigger guard um so I feel like I could take that role into guarding someone bigger um but yeah just I’ve always taken pride in in the defensive end especially because it translates to you know better offensive looks um but yeah I’ve I’ve trying to you been working on my my defense end just because you know I might I’m not the biggest person so yeah we did talk about that point of attack defense as something that we were drawn to and something that bronnie and I talked about at the Chicago combine is also being Rim attack on offense you know I think he’s shown the ability to space the floor but we need downhill guards in our program that can put pressure on the paint and we hope in you know the summer league that’s a skill that I know coach wants to develop in bronnie is attack in the rim I mean he’s as athletic as any guard you know in this draft and so we’ll develop him at both sides of the ball [Music] [Applause]

Take a look at the Los Angeles Lakers’ full introductory press conference as GM Rob Pelinka and new head coach JJ Redick welcome 2024 NBA Draft picks Dalton Knecht and Bronny James to the team.

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