Former NBA All-Star Makes Bold Comparison of Los Angeles Lakers' Bronny James, Dalton Knecht

Los Angeles Lakers guard Bronny James is coming off a strong summer league performance , preparing for his second season in the NBA.

The former USC Trojans guard has had his ups and downs, but is showing his development .

James was selected in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft with the No.

55 overall pick.

In the first round, the Lakers selected guard Dalton Knecht.

As a rookie, Knecht earned solid playing time, starting in 16 games, playing in 78 in the regular season.

James split his time between the NBA and the G League throughout the season.

In the NBA, James played 27 games, starting in just one.

Bold Statement On James And Knecht Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas has been vocal about James development in the NBA.

He has previously called out the critics for being too hard on a second-round draft pick, and has recently made his opinions on James and Knecht clear.

Who looks more like the first-round pick.

[James] or Knecht right now? F*ck the names, just the production, and charisma, and style and comfortability," Arenas said on his show, Gil's Arena .

Who looks more like the first-round pick? Are they three years apart from each other? One looks way more comfortable than the other.

In the summer league, the former USC guard averaged 14.3 points and 3.8 assists.

He showed his improvement with distributing the ball and is showing more confidence on the court.

With his development throughout his rookie year and his performance in the summer league, James is on pace to be a part of the Lakers rotation this season.

MORE: USC Trojans' Lincoln Riley Expanding Recruiting Efforts With Elite Safety MORE: Paul Finebaum Goes After USC Trojans' Lincoln Riley Again Before Big Ten Media Days MORE: USC Trojans Receive 'Surprising' Ranking Before First AP Top-25 Poll MORE: Chicago Bears' Caleb Williams Reveals Lofty Goals Under Coach Ben Johnson While the talk has been about James stepping up in the summer league, the conversation around Knecht has been the opposite.

He had a strong performance in the fourth quarter of the California Classic against the San Antonio Spurs, but he could not keep the momentum going in the summer league.

Los Angeles Lakers Trade Rumors Trade rumors regarding the Lakers have been swirling.

The biggest storyline has been what the future holds for Los Angeles Lakers star forward LeBron James.

If the NBA star is traded, his son is expected to follow him.

The conversation about the James family is still there, but there are now rumors growing about Knecht.

With the former USC player having a strong performance, guard Luka Doncic on the roster, and the team expected to sign guard Marcus Smart, there is a chance Knecht does not return to the Lakers.

If Knecht is the player who is traded, this would boost James chances of being put in the rotation for the Lakers.

The best performances for James have been when earning consistent minutes.

In the G League, James showed why he had a high ceiling, and in part, it was due to starting in all 11 games he played in.

James averaged 21.9 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists with the South Bay Lakers.

I definitely think those G League reps were amazing for me to be comfortable in my game, so thats helped me to be out there for an extended period of time, James told NBA.coms Mike Trudell.

My confidence has grown from last year, throughout the G League season, and some NBA games.

Its been a slow progression, but its working out so far.

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