DAN Patrick has warned Bronny James about his future with the LA Lakers after he snubbed Luka Doncic’s contract extension press conference.

Bronny was a notable absentee as a number of Lakers stars showed up to support Doncic at his press conference following the announcement that he has penned a three-year $165m deal in LA.

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Dan Patrick has slammed Bronny James for snubbing Luka Doncic’s contract extension press conference[/caption]

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Bronny James didn’t attend the the LA Lakers’ press conference for Doncic’s new deal[/caption]

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Luka Doncic has penned a new three-year $165m extension with the Lakers[/caption]

Bronny’s dad LeBron James was also missing from the presser, with the pair seemingly playing golf on vacation instead.

However, ESPN has reported that LeBron, whose relationship with the Lakers is said to be in a rough spot, still video called Doncic to congratulate him on his new deal.

Sportscaster Dan Patrick reckons that there is no excuse for Bronny not to have been, though, warning the 20-year-old rookie that he needs to settle in to the franchise if he wants his time with the Lakers to extend past his dad’s inevitable future exit.

Speaking on The Dan Patrick Show, he said: “Luka signs a contract extension, a three-year deal, and you had a lot of players who were there.

“LeBron was not there, although he Facetimed Luka. I’m guessing he knew this was going to happen. But okay, you’re on vacation.

“The one person I thought should have been there was his son, Bronny James. If he wants to stay longer after LeBron leaves, that’s your teammate. That’s what was surprising.

“Bronny James should have been there. You’re the last guy on the roster. You should be there, show support.

“It just felt like, ‘Hey, my dad’s LeBron. We got a vacation.’ I mean, that’s where you say, ‘Dad, that’s my teammate.’

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LeBron James and Bronny were seemingly on vacation instead of attending[/caption]

“If LeBron doesn’t want to be there… It just feels like there’s a game going on, the passive-aggressive, who knows, European League, back and forth.

“I’m working out at the old Clippers facility, and here we go. You should be there. It’s important.

“But, as it was pointed out to me from somebody with the Lakers yesterday, Luka is the face of the Lakers. LeBron is the face of the league. And they both play on the same team.”

He added: “Bronny should have been there. ‘Dad, I’m going to cut short this vacation. I need to be there. I think it’s really important.’

“If that’s my son and he said that, I would be like, ‘Alright son, you are right. You should be there.’

“But if LeBron Facetimed Luka and he is alright with it, I don’t think there is any acrimony there. But I think it’s awkward.”

It is not known if Bronny reached out to Doncic privately to congratulate him or not.

LeBron opted into the final year of his contract worth $52.6m in June and will play a record-setting 23rd NBA season.

But the four-time NBA champion is facing a battle to remain the franchise star with Doncic’s move and contract making him the face of the Lakers.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has praised Caitlin Clark despite receiving backlash as a result of the point guard’s appeal for higher pay.

During the league’s All-Star game last month, players – including Clark, who did not feature on court due to injury – wore pre-game warm-up shirts that read: ‘Pay us what you owe us’, in protest of the current salary situation.

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Caitlin Clark led protests against the current WNBA salary situation at the All-Stars game last month[/caption]

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WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has praised the 23-year-old for her part in growing the league[/caption]

Since the event, the conversation has continued with several players speaking out.

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese slammed the league’s meeting with the players, saying: “Obviously, women’s basketball is skyrocketing. And it’s important for us to get what we want now, not just now, but for the future as well.

“It was an eye-opener for me … hearing the language of things, not things that I was happy to hear.

“It was disrespectful… the proposal that we were sent back.”

Hillary Clinton has also backed the players in their pay dispute.

But although she has faced backlash as a result of the saga, Engelbert has praised star player Clark for doing positive work for the league.

The WNBA chief told the Daily Mail: “Caitlin’s such a great player and a great person.

“We’re so thrilled to have her, and she’s been such a great representative of the league.”

However, Engelbert insisted the WNBA cannot grow solely based on the popularity of Clark.

She continued: “It’s great that everybody’s talking [about the WNBA].[Caitlin] is really thoughtful, not just about her game, but also about growing women’s basketball and growing the WNBA fandom.

“No league ever made themselves on one player, even in the [Larry] Bird-Magic [Johnson] era, the Michael Jordan era, the Kobe [Bryant]-Shaq [O’Neal] era.

“You have to build your league and market around all of your players and your stars. And we’ve built household names. You can never build it around one.”

The WNBA chief is now hoping to build on the success and make the league global.

She concluded: “We’re now a big domestic brand. And then we have admired what the NBA has done over many years with bringing their players [from] and building fandom in Europe, Middle East Asia and longer term Africa.

“This year… it’s about sustaining the tens of millions of new fans we brought into the league last year, but gain on that, too.

“I can’t stress enough: the quality of the product on the court is so important. And we’re so fortunate to have the best players in the world.”

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