Bronny James has been the center of many conversations in the days leading up to the 2024 NBA draft. The young guard had individual workouts with two teams: the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Lakers. Many have assumed that Bronny's NBA home could be one of these two teams, with LA having a higher chance due to his father, LeBron James.
In a tweet on Wednesday, analyst Skip Bayless backed former Boston Celtic Paul Pierce's suggestion of a new team for Bronny James. Bayless said on X/Twitter:
"I did like Paul Pierce's suggestion this morning on Undisputed of the Celtics taking Bronny at 30 and letting him learn from Jrue Holiday and Derrick White on a team without great depth ... but only of course if Bronny isn't completely committed to playing with his father."
In early 2023, LeBron James expressed his desire to play in the same team as his son. However, since then he has seemingly softened his stance, while Bronny has also shared his dream of making a name for himself in the NBA:
“My dream has always just been to put my name out, make a name for myself and, of course, get to the NBA,” Bronny said. “I never thought about playing with my dad. But of course, he’s brought it up a couple times.”
Bronny James' agent says LeBron's decisions are not contingent on his son's future
LeBron James can avail his player option in July and request to be traded. Many believed that this could be his leverage to convince the Lakers to draft Bronny. However, Bronny and LeBron's agent, Rich Paul, dismissed such claims:
“LeBron is off this idea of having to play with Bronny. If he does, he does. But if he doesn’t, he doesn’t. There’s no deal made that it’s guaranteed that if the Lakers draft Bronny at 55, he [LeBron] will re-sign. If that was the case, I would force them to take him at 17. We don’t need leverage. The Lakers can draft Bronny and LeBron doesn’t re-sign,” Paul said.
Per ESPN's latest mock draft, Bronny James is a No. 54 pick going to the Lakers. Given his poor performances in college, it is likely that he will be a second-round pick and his fate will likely be sealed on Thursday.
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