Bronny James’ offensive woes are the least of his, Lakers' concerns

While Bronny James and the Los Angeles Lakers Summer League roster already took the hardwood in Sacramento and Salt Lake City, the main event for rookies this time of year is in Vegas. And on Friday night, the son of LeBron James took the floor for the first time in Sin City. It didn't go well.

The offensive end of the floor was not Bronny's friend on Friday against the Houston Rockt. He managed just eight points in a 99-80 loss for the Lakers while shooting an abysmal 3-of-14 from the floor and an even worse 0-for-8 from long-range. He did add five rebounds and two steals but registered zero assists with three turnovers in the contest as well.

That's obviously not pretty. However, this is Summer League. It's a time for young players to be aggressive, to get their shots up, to try and prove themselves. We've seen plenty of rookies come into Vegas and put up similar performances to James, so we shouldn't be too hard on him in that capacity.

Having said that, Rockets rookie Reed Sheppard made things look even worse.

Reed Sheppard made Bronny James' Summer League 'debut' look even worse

James was guarding Sheppard for a good portion of the time that the two rookies were on the floor together. And it just so happens that the No. 3 overall pick looked the part of his draft position with a phenomenal outing, scoring 23 points with five assists, four rebounds and three blocks on 9-of-17 shooting from the floor and 4-of-6 shooting from 3-point range. He was also at the heart of this unfortunate sequence for Bronny that featured an awful turnover and then getting cooked defensively by Sheppard.

This is where there should potentially be some legitimate concern about James. Beyond the mindless turnover, one of the big notes on Bronny after his lone season with the USC Trojans was that he could make headway early as a defender. While he wasn't beat by Sheppard every single play, he was over-aggressive when he was clearly a bit winded with where he picked up the Rockets rookie and then got blown by to set up an open 3-point attempt for Houston.

If Bronny James wants to see the Lakers roster in a meaningful way as a rookie, that can't happen. James did own up to his offensive struggles and the learning curve he's on, noting he's learning and just trying to get better with each game. Should we see that throughout the rest of Summer League, then that's exactly what we're looking for.

However, when you combine his paltry offensive showing with allowing a fellow rookie to have a monster day at the office with some defensive lapses when that should be Bronny's immediate calling card, it's not what you're looking for, even in Summer League. It's also something that fans and the Lakers alike will need to monitor to see if James can overcome this quickly or if, as estimated by some already, he's better off starting his pro career developing further in the G-League.