Dan Hurley revealed Bronny James was not a part of any conversations he had with the Los Angeles Lakers during the interview process.
The reason why this was asked by Stugotz of the Dan Le Batard Show? ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski previously reported Hurley as the Lakers’ coach could bring a lot of value to James’ NBA development. That, and his father LeBron James staying on the Lakers for the 2024-25 season.
As far as if Hurley heard Bronny James’ name mentioned, it wasn’t in any conversations with Los Angeles.
“On TV a lot,” Hurley said with a smile. “I love Bronny, when I watched him in high school, I loved Bronny. I think we have kind of a unique style of the way we play offense here at UConn. Our tactics and strategies, I think, are a little bit more unique and I think it has a lot to do with my background, the high school coach, and then my upbringing with my father. And you know, it’s weird, he would have been incredible in our system with the way that we play basketball.
“Because he’s so athletic, he defends but then he’s like such a smart player and you know, he can shoot, he can pass, he’s got a great feel. (Bronny) could play a couple different guard spots. I really liked Bronny but he was not specifically a part of any particular conversation that I did not see on television.”
Bronny James, based on his recovery from cardiac arrest, modest playing time and stats at USC, was not a sought after NBA prospect. But after entering the transfer portal and weighing his options at the scouting combine, he elected to go pro.
Heck, Bronny James declined all offered workouts with NBA teams except for the Lakers and Phoenix Suns.
James’ agent Rich Paul, who represents his father LeBron, gave a statement to ESPN.
“Bronny’s [draft] range is wide,” Paul told ESPN. “He’s a really good prospect who has a lot of room for growth. It only takes one team. I don’t care where that team is — it can be No. 1 or 58 — [but] I do care about the plan, the development. The team’s strategy, the opportunity and the financial commitment. That’s why I’m not doing a two-way deal. Every team understands that.”
James was a highly touted high school recruit out of Sierra Canyon in California where he was a four-star prospect rated as the No. 25 overall recruit and the No. 6 ranked point guard in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.
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