In the first-ever two-day NBA Draft, the No. 1 talking point heading into Thursday’s second round is Bronny James and whether he comes off the board.
The one-and-done USC product and son of LeBron James was saddled on one of the most underwhelming teams in the country, a preseason top-25 team that failed to win half their games. Meanwhile, James suffered through a heart issue that sidelined him for a while, then came back as a minor contributor off the bench.
Despite a tough go as a freshman, James decided to enter the NBA Draft and is still on the board heading into day two. According to Shams Charania, though, he will likely hear his name called.
“The expectation is for him to get drafted today in round two,” Charania said during his appearance on the Pat McAfee Show. He emphasized that the James camp is looking for home that truly believes in him.
“For everyone around Bronny James throughout this pre-draft process, his agent Rich Paul at Klutch Sports, it’s been about investment, finding a team that’s willing and wants to invest a multi-year contract in him.”
Right now, there’s two likely suspects, per Charania.
“He worked out for two NBA teams, the Phoenix Suns and the Lakers. That was intentional; finding teams that believe in him, are going to invest a multi-year contract in him.”
Charania then brought up an example from last year’s draft that could look similar to the Bronny James situation.
“The way Rich Paul handled Chris Livingston last year, I think that you have to think about that when you think about a guy like Bronny James, who, when you’re trying to position him to a specific spot — it would not surprise me if there’s calls made to be like ‘listen, don’t draft him, he’s got his spot already, let him continue to pass you by.'”
Like James, Livingston declared after an up-and-down freshman season in college despite most college folks suggesting he should return to Kentucky. Ultimately, Livingston was selected late in the second round in 2023 and even inked a multi-year deal with the Bucks. That’s the hope for Bronny.
“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 whether he’s going to end up in the G League,” Charania added. “It’s being on the roster, being on a multi-year contract. I expect that to be the case.”
McAfee then asked if there’s any fear that another team earlier up in the draft could snag Bronny James as a play against LeBron and the Lakers. Shams Charnia says:
“I’ve heard in the last few days teams be like, ‘hey, what if we just use our mid-second round pick on Bronny James and just see how it goes.’ But I think that relationship with the agency — if you don’t have that investment or have that conversation about where you stand with Bronny James, I think that does play a significant role.”
In the eyes of Bronny James’ camp, he’s not some second-round flier. Instead, he’s a player expecting a bit of commitment in to him.
“When you draft someone like Bronny James, there’s more to them,” says Charnia. “Like, where do you play him? What do you view as his future?”
It’s hard to imagine very many teams are truly interested in investing that sort of effort into a late second-round prospect, which is why teaming up with his dad in Los Angeles has always been the likely outcome for Bronny James, per Charnia.
“Obviously, 55, if the Lakers are there and Bronny’s still on the board, that’s the guy a lot of people expect. The Lakers have interest and want to draft Bronny James. They know the vision that LeBron has had, he’s spoken about it publicly.”
The Suns remain a possibility, but it’s them and the Lakers who are most likely to select Bronny James given his expectations.
“At the end of the day, the way Rich Paul has handled Bronny James during this pre-draft process is identifying the teams, whether it’s Phoenix, the Lakers, someone else, that wants to give him that investment.”
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