Like in the one hand Bronny James is probably not an NBA player.
But on the other hand I watched a shit ton of Austin Reeves at Oklahoma and at no point did anyone watching him say he would start an NBA game and if someone tells you they thought he would they’re lying.
Nicola Jokic was the 41st pick, and the 1st pick in that draft, a man we were calling “Maple Jordan” at the time, is a competent role-player. Nobody knows anything.
like, all I’m saying here is that a kid who looked pretty good before he had a heart attack, who is the son of a top-3ish all-time basketball mind, might very well turn out to be a useful player, perhaps after he is old enough to legally purchase alcohol
he’s almost certainly not going to be useful at 19 in part because, again, he had a freaking heart attack less than a year ago. but very few players are useful at 19 and ~0 second-rounders
The other side of the coin is that pick #55 is a weak draft year isn’t going to turn into a great player anyway. Why not take a flier and make your star (who’s deciding on a player option as we speak) happy?
19 on a 2nd round contract. Sure, he won't slot in to play strongly right off the bat, but he's not even getting a million/year, at least not in salary.
Thanasis is the obvious comparison, and while Thanasis probably wouldn't be playing on NBA roster if Giannis didn't exist, he'd be playing professionally somewhere. If that's your 15th man, so be it.
"might make lebron marginally more likely to resign with the lakers" is going to help them on-court a whole lot more than whoever else was available with that pick