LeBron James needs to take his own advice on Bronny James and 'let the kid be a kid'

This is For The Win’s daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Did a friend recommend or forward this to you? If so, subscribe here. Have feedback? Leave your questions, comments and concerns through this brief reader survey! Now, here’s Mike Sykes.

Good morning, Winners! Welcome back to the Morning Win. Thanks so much for rocking with us here at For the Win this morning. We appreciate you. Before we get started, don’t forget to jump in our court storming debate in this poll here.

Yesterday, Bronny James appeared in an ESPN mock draft, which normally wouldn’t be that out of the ordinary. The thing about this mock draft, though, is that it was for the 2025 NBA draft and not 2024. He plays another season at USC after this one, which pushes his NBA timeline back.

That would be a big deal for the Lakers and the rest of the NBA because LeBron James wants to play with his son. So it wasn’t shocking he was upset by this projection. He slammed the media on Twitter after seeing this with a since deleted tweet. Here’s what he said:

“Can yall please just let the kid be a kid and enjoy college basketball. The work and results will ultimately do the talking no matter what he decides to do. If y’all don’t know he doesn’t care what a mock draft says, he just WORKS! Earned Not Given!”

He went on to say that mock drafts don’t “matter one bit” to the process and that hard work is the only thing that gets results. That’s certainly true.

But what I’m trying to figure out is why LeBron is so worked up about this one. It’s strange.

I mean, sure. Speculating on a Bronny James decision before he’s actually made one is tough, but it’s not unfair. Bronny can make the jump to the NBA when he wants to, but it’s very clear he’s not ready just yet.

He’s a guard averaging 5.5 points and 2.5 assists off the bench for USC while shooting 37 percent from the floor. Nobody would be talking about NBA for another player with those same stats who didn’t have the James name attached to him. That’s just the truth.

LeBron calling for everyone to just “let the kid be a kid” feels off to me. It seems to me that that’s what the ESPN mock was doing — giving Bronny an extra year to be a kid.

It feels like ESPN is giving Bronny more room to grow than LeBron is at this point.

Let’s be real — the reason speculation exists around Bronny’s future is because LeBron has been so hard-pressed to play with him. Before his son even chose to go to USC, LeBron connected their futures together in the NBA. No matter what team Bronny goes to in the league, LeBron has said he wants to be there.

Maybe there’s a world where LeBron doesn’t do this. And, in that world, maybe we still care about Bronny’s future and when he’ll go to the NBA because, well, it’s LeBron James’ son. We did the same with Marcus Jordan back in the day, too.

But there’s no debating that part of the reason the microscope is so fixated on Bronny is because of LeBron. We’ve only been speculating about the future of LeBron James for the last two decades. So, of course, when it’s tied to someone else we’re going to speculate about their future, too. That’s how this works. LeBron knows that.

He should absolutely believe in his son’s ability to get it done at the NBA level and be a good player. Any father in that position would. But it’s OK if it takes a bit more time than anyone originally planned for. It’s about what’s best for Bronny. If that means staying for another year (which, maybe it doesn’t!), then so be it.

When it comes time to make that decision, I hope Bronny puts the mock drafts aside as well as his dad’s wishes and only focuses on what’s best for him. Because, ultimately, that’s what matters most here.

It’s his future. Not anyone else’s.

The Wrath of Monty Williams

Monty Williams is generally known as a kind man in NBA circles. It truly does seem to take a lot to get him out of character. And, boy, did the NBA’s officials do a great job of it on Monday night.

Refs blatantly missed a foul call against the Knicks after a scramble for the ball with the Pistons. Ausar Thompson gets blatantly tripped and doesn’t get a call. Then the Knicks hit a game-winner.

Josh Hart gets the go-ahead and-1 to take the lead with seconds left in the 4Q

NYK-DET | Live on the NBA App
https://t.co/Y71qEUtIzM pic.twitter.com/2LEiDCgjiM

— NBA (@NBA) February 27, 2024

The no-call was wrong. Crew Chief James Williams admitted it immediately after the game. The Pistons get an “LOL sorry, but take this L.”

Monty Williams went off. I can’t even blame him.

“Where’s the New York media now? The absolute worst call of the season… We’ve done it the right way, we’ve called the league, we’ve sent in clips.”

Monty Williams after the Pistons’ 113-111 loss against the Knicks

(via @BallySportsDET)pic.twitter.com/VXEe1ATM9H

— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 27, 2024

“Enough’s enough. We’ve done it the right way. We’ve called the league. We sent in clips. We’re sick of hearing the same stuff over and over again. We had a chance to win the game and the guy dove into Ausar’s legs and there was a no-call. That’s an abomination. You cannot miss that call in an NBA game. Period.” 

He’s right, man. And, look, officiating is a tough job. But that call there? Come on, man. It was a foul and no excuse to swallow that whistle.

What a rough season for the NBA’s officials. They can’t blame anyone but themselves.

The Royal Treatment

It looks like the Kansas City Royals figured out a workaround for one of the problems with Major League Baseball’s new jerseys.

The lettering on the Royal’s jerseys for spring training was huge on Monday. Everybody else’s is still smaller, which is one of the main complaints players seem to have.

READ MORE: Here’s more on the player frustrations with the MLB jerseys

Our Charles Curtis has more on why Kansas City is getting special treatment here:

“Eagle-eyed Paul Lukas of Uni Watch took note of some Royals jerseys in spring training that had lettering that looked perfectly large … and sure enough, it’s a thing!

Lukas spoke with the team’s VP of communications and discovered that the Royals made a case despite the fact that there was no choice given to teams about lettering size:

‘The Royals like the new uniforms but felt strongly about maintaining the full-sized lettering as a way for fans to connect with the team’s players, so they worked with Nike and MLB to make that possible,’.”

Basically, if you ask, maybe you’ll receive. Especially if you ask nicely. Take note, other MLB teams. Be more Royal.

Quick hits: A big running back bonanza … The Pelicans vs. Stephen A. … and more

— Our Cory Woodroof has five big running backs who will likely avoid a franchise tag and hit free agency this offseason. It’s running back SZN y’all.

— Here’s Meghan Hall with more on the beef between Stephen A. Smith and the Pelicans. This is fantastic, man.

— Christian D’Andrea has updated the NFL cuts tracker to include Shaq Barrett.

— Robert Zeglinski dropped an NBA MVP ladder and Nikola Jokic is at the top. 

— Here’s Charles Curtis with other fan alternate logos for the Clippers and they’re all hilarious.

— And here’s Tyler Nettuno on Marvin Harrison Jr.’s weird plan when it comes to the NFL draft.

That’s a wrap, folks! Thanks so much for reading today. Have a fantastic Tuesday. Let’s chat again tomorrow. Until then, be well! Peace.

-Sykes