NBA Players Furious Over Bronny James Guaranteed Contract With Lakers

0:00 - Intro
0:13 - Bronny James Compared To Last Six #55 Picks
0:38 - NBA Players Angry Over Guaranteed Contract
2:21 - Lebron On Bronny James Development
3:58 - Bronny James On Signing To Lakers
4:38 - Theo Pinson On Dalton
5:27 - Demar DeRozan Moving Weird?/Lakers Issue
8:48 - Final Thoughts

Twelve years ago, Team USA head coach Steve Kerr was a TNT broadcaster two seasons away from his first coaching experience.

Twelve years ago, Stephen Curry was coming off his third NBA season, one before his breakout began. Kawhi Leonard had just finished fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. Anthony Davis was just selected No. 1 overall in the NBA Draft.

Twelve years ago, Tyrese Haliburton was 12 years old. Anthony Edwards was in the fourth grade. Joel Embiid had moved to the United States just two years prior and would soon commit to the University of Kansas.

And twelve years ago, Kevin Durant and LeBron James were teammates for the first time in London, doing so as undoubtedly the two best players in the world. They had just come off their first of three NBA Finals competing against each other, the true start to the best on-court rivalry the league has had since Bird and Magic.

Twelve years later, Durant and James get to be teammates again, presumably one last time for a 2024 Team USA squad that will serve as a celebration for what the two have contributed to the game of basketball.

“It’s awesome,” James said Saturday. “The fact that we are still at this stage of our career when we can still go out 12 years later and still be performing at a high level and represent Team USA, it’s a salute to our commitment to our craft, to us staying relatively healthy. … Our game has translated from 12 years ago to now and it’s always great to team up with one of the greatest to ever play this game in Kevin Durant. I’m looking forward to that and it will be another fun ride.”

Is this ride the last one? Even just one day into training camp, the possibility that it is hangs over the process.

Durant acknowledged he is cognizant that this could be one of his last experiences with James on the basketball court in general, not just as a teammate, before pausing a few seconds to absorb his thoughts.

“He’s just meant so much to the game of basketball, especially in my career, since I was in high school following him,” Durant said. “He’s almost 40 years old and still playing at an elite level which is inspiring to me as well. Every chance I get to be around ‘Bron, even if it’s just having a quick bite to eat or just seeing him randomly for a couple of minutes, his energy is contagious. So to spend real time with him —  he’s experienced so much in this league. I know the conversations that we’re all gonna have are gonna be incredible so I’m looking forward to it.”

James returning after missing the last two Olympics and at a time when international basketball has never been in a better state will be a fitting last hurrah if that’s indeed what this is. If anyone over the last couple of decades should represent the final boss of basketball in the top international tournament at at time like this, it’s Durant and James.

Lots is made of how the rest of the world has “caught up,” and rightfully so. The phrase, however, is too loosely used and a discredit to what a fully operational Team USA juggernaut would do. This roster serves that purpose.

The inclusion of that pair and Curry is enough as it is. That’s seven of the eight MVP winners from 2009-16. But the supporting cast is absurd and it feels ridiculous to even label it that. Embiid just won his own MVP last year. Then you add on previous First Team All-NBA members from this current decade like Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, Davis and Leonard.

That’s two-thirds of the roster covered before even getting to Bam Adebayo, Tyrese Haliburton, Jrue Holiday and Edwards. Any of those four would be the best player by far for half the field.

James is arguably the greatest player the NBA has seen. Durant is not far behind on the all-time pecking order and for many is the top scorer in the league’s history. Durant is 3-for-3 on golds while James’ bronze in 2004 inspired the assembly of the legendary redeem team that led to him picking up his two golds. Durant should already be certified as the best men’s Team USA competitor ever and this upcoming Olympics will erase any doubt of that if there is any in the first place.