Bronny James reportedly plans to visit with only a few NBA teams ahead of next months’ draft: His father LeBron’s Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns.
‘The Suns have the No. 22 overall pick in the draft, and he’s under consideration there among a lot of players at 22,’ The Athletic’s Shams Charania said on the Run It Back FanDuel TV show.
‘It’s going to come down to the developmental plan,’ Charania continued, explaining that the 19-year-old guard could be picked in the late first or early second round. ‘It’s going to come down to guaranteed money, whether it’s in the late first-round or in the second-round… There’s only going to be a couple teams – two or three teams – that Bronny James visits and the Lakers and Suns, interestingly, are among the two teams.’
It’s unclear what Charania meant with his references to a ‘developmental plan’ and ‘guaranteed money.’ First-round picks have a set salary scale over the first four years of their career, while second-round picks have more room to negotiate, albeit typically with diminished leverage.
Interestingly, Charania reports that Bronny received 10 invitations for pre-draft workouts, but will only visit two or three teams, including the Suns and Lakers. Team spokespeople did not immediately return DailyMail.com’s request for confirmation about Bronny’s pre-draft visits.
Bronny’s single season of college basketball turned out to be a major letdown after the McDonald’s All-American suffered cardiac arrest while practicing in July of 2023.
He was cleared to return to the court, but averaged only 19.4 minutes over 25 games for the Trojans, while scoring just 4.8 points per outing.
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Of course, drafting Bronny could also mean acquiring LeBron, who has the right to opt out of the final year and $51 million on his Lakers contract to become a free agent.
What’s more, the elder James has previously expressed a desire to play alongside his son, as Gordie Howe once did with the Hartford Whalers and Ken Griffey Sr. did with the Seattle Mariners.
‘Well, LeBron said he wanted to play with his son,’ LeBron and Bronny’s agent, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul, told Bleacher Report last week. ‘Bronny can’t do anything about that. And that’s nothing we should push back on. If he wants to play with his son, that’s that. But again, I have a job to do representing Bronny and LeBron.
‘LeBron’s season’s over. I’m focused on Bronny and the rest of our draft class. If it aligns where he can play with his dad, great. Am I necessarily focused on that? No, not at all. I’m focused on a team plan, investment and a seriousness as it pertains to fit and opportunity.’