Bronny James Just Helped Another 2nd-Round Pick Get a Huge Pay Day

The Los Angeles Lakers' decision to draft Bronny James with the 55th overall pick and give him a guaranteed deal received a ton of criticism from fans and talking heads. It was treated as if it was the first time a second-round pick had received a guaranteed rookie contract.

In fact, this has been a trend over the past few years as teams are looking for cheaper, younger players under team control.

This trend has continued to grow with the arrival of Bronny James and the increased power of Rich Paul. Another one of Paul's clients, Oso Ighodaro is the latest second-round pick to get a four-year deal.

Another 2nd-Round Pick Gets Similar Contract to Bronny James

In another contract negotiated by Rich Paul, the big man out of Marquette got a four-year, $7.9 million deal from the Phoenix Suns. Considering that Ighodaro is a much more established player, it makes sense that he would demand a deal commensurate with Bronny's.

The Suns are as cash-strapped as any team in the NBA, so their desire to have affordable rookies on team-friendly deals is understandable.

What this also demonstrates is that there will be other second-round picks who get similar deals to Bronny and Ighodaro.

Other agents will likely point to these contracts when negotiating with teams and try to secure similar deals for their clients. This is the new reality of the NBA under the new collective bargaining agreement.

Hopefully, this will put to rest the baseless and ridiculous criticisms Bronny James and the Lakers have been receiving in recent weeks. Bronny is not the first unproven second-round pick to get a chance in the NBA and certainly won't be the last. Let's hope that he takes good advantage of it.

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