Bronny James, the son of legendary player LeBron James, went unselected on the first night of the 2024 NBA Draft. However, it was unsurprising that Bronny did not appear in the first 30 selections on Wednesday night, as he was projected to be called in the second round.
This summer, Bronny has reportedly performed two individual workouts with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Phoenix Suns, foregoing opportunities to showcase for other teams in the league. However, the Lakers ultimately decided to use their 17th pick to select Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht, passing up on LeBron’s son.
Bronny’s agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, maintained that his client would not consider two-way offers but would insist on an official NBA contract. According to Paul, he sought a team that genuinely values Bronny’s presence on the roster.
Paul stated, “This is nothing new. The goal is to find a team that values your guy and try to push him to get there. It’s important to understand the context and realize that this has always been the strategy with many of my clients throughout the years, especially those in need of development like Bronny. My stuff is by design.”
As expected, Bronny eventually was drafted by the Lakers in the 55th pick of the second round. Notably, his presence on the team will mark the first time in history there has been a father-son duo in the NBA, joining his father as he reaches the twilight of his 21-year career in the league.
ESPN reported earlier this year on comments from Bronny’s agent, who maintained that he would stay in the NBA draft instead of utilizing the remainder of his college eligibility. At the time, Paul emphasized that he would not entertain the notion of a two-way deal.
“Bronny’s [draft] range is wide,” Paul explained to 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.”
In the months leading up to the draft, there was significant discussion as to whether Bronny would end up on the Lakers alongside his veteran father. However, Paul urged the Lakers to look at his client as if he were any other player in the draft, stripping away the primary focus on having a father and son on the same team. The agent emphasized that Los Angeles should disregard the equity surrounding his last name and view Bronny independently of LeBron.
“The Lakers need to look at Bronny like everyone else,” Paul further explained to ESPN. “If they value him enough and he’s there, that’s great. If it’s not the Lakers, that’s great. I won’t be mad if it’s not. It’s obvious that people hear the conversation around the dad and son playing together, but that’s not our focus. If it happens organically, great. I’m not building on that.
Featured image credit: Eleven Warriors, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Lebron_%22Bronny%22_James_Jr.jpg
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