JJ Redick is hoping that he will have his own version of The Dorture Chamber with Bronny James.
The new Los Angeles Lakers head coach Redick was interviewed this week by SiriusXM NBA Radio. During the interview, Redick spoke on the Lakers rookie guard Bronny and shared an interesting player comparison for him — Oklahoma City Thunder swingman Luguentz Dort.
“You have to be a guy that’s a ball hawk at all times,” said Redick of his message for Bronny. “We’re going to develop his shot. We’re going to develop his ball skills. He’s already got a great feel. He has a really good, instinctive nature on the defensive end.
“We used the example yesterday,” Redick added. “We were at the Canada-USA basketball exhibition game. And I turned to one of our assistant coaches during the game. And I said, ‘I think Lu Dort just singlehandedly broke up the eighth possession of the game.’ Like, his impact. You can’t get into your offense. Sometimes, the shot clock winds down because of his ball pressure. He literally blows up entire plays because of that pressure. And I really believe this. Bronny will eventually be that guy.”
That is actually a somewhat fitting comparison since Dort is a former undrafted player who found a niche in the league on the strength of his defensive intensity. At 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Dort is not all that far off either from the body type of Bronny, who is 6-foot-2 and 210 at 19 years old.
Redick clearly noted that Bronny won’t be like the five-year NBA veteran Dort right away. But Dort is definitely a strong example for Bronny to take inspiration from as a role player whose calling card is his defense. Bronny’s offensive skills are limited at this point, so it might be worth it for him to go that route. Meanwhile, Dort has now, interestingly enough, been compared to both LeBron James’ son and even a former U.S. president.
