The Athletic and Stadium NBA insider Shams Charania suggested Thursday that agent Rich Paul could instruct certain teams to pass on his client, Bronny James, in the second round of the 2024 NBA draft.
Charania discussed the possibility during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show, noting that Paul could potentially already have an idea in mind for where he wants Bronny to land:
“The way that Rich Paul handled Chris Livingston last year, I think you have to look at that when you think about a guy like Bronny James, who if you’re trying to position him to a specific team, or a specific spot where in this case, could it be the Lakers at 55? It would not surprise me if at any point in the second round there’s gonna be calls made to be like: ‘Listen, don’t draft him, he’s got his spot already, let him continue to pass you by.’
“Because I think the way they’ve handled this process from the beginning, it’s not going to be just a two-way contract or a question of where he’s gonna end up, in the G League or whatever, it’s being on the roster and being on a multi-year contract and I expect that to be the case for Bronny James, it’s just a question of where.”
Charania added that James only worked out for the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, noting that it was by design.
Bronny’s father, NBA legend LeBron James, is the Lakers’ franchise player and is expected to be with the team next season despite having a player option in his contract, so the Lakers have long been favored to select Bronny with the No. 55 overall pick.
After Bronny was not selected in the first round of the draft on Wednesday, The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie reported that league sources felt it was “likely” Lakers would use the No. 55 overall pick on the former USC guard.
It is unclear what type of role Bronny would have in L.A., especially as a rookie, but Charania stressed that Paul is trying to secure his client a multi-year contract.
Charania mentioned Livingston, who is another one of Paul’s clients, and his situation is one that could end up mirroring Bronny’s.
After Livingston was not selected in the first round of the 2023 NBA draft, he fell all the way to the Milwaukee Bucks with the final pick of the draft at No. 58 overall.
Despite that, Livingston landed a four-year, $7.7 million rookie deal, which was the largest salary ever for a final pick in the draft.
If Bronny goes 55th overall to the Lakers, he will be among the final picks in the draft and can perhaps expect a similar deal.
Bronny entered the college ranks as a highly touted player, but he missed the first eight games of his freshman season after going into cardiac arrest during a workout last summer.
While Bronny recovered, he never truly found his footing at USC, averaging just 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, while shooting only 36.6 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from three-point range.
Still, Bronny is viewed as a quality defender and playmaker, and he has a chance to carve out a role for himself on an NBA team at some point.
League interest in Bronny outside the Lakers is unclear, but it is difficult to envision him falling past the Lakers at No. 55 due in part to LeBron’s presence.
The second round of the 2024 NBA draft will commence Thursday at 4 p.m. ET.