Home Football Lakers open to drafting Bronny James with LeBron’s future in L.A. uncertain

Lakers open to drafting Bronny James with LeBron’s future in L.A. uncertain

Football — 05/13/2024

The Lakers’ season ended Monday night with a Jamal Murray game-winning shot that advanced the Denver Nuggets to the next round of the NBA playoffs and sent L.A. on summer vacation. It wasn’t a huge surprise given the Nuggets’ dominance throughout the series, even after the Lakers avoided a sweep by winning Game 4. But that doesn’t make it any less disappointing for a franchise that appears to have championship-or-bust expectations each season.

The Lakers’ season is over, and they now face another uncertain offseason filled with major roster and coaching decisions.

It has already been reported that Darvin Ham’s job as head coach is in jeopardy after only two seasons, as his relationships with Lakers players fluctuated this season and the team failed to make a deeper run in the playoffs. 

There’s also the looming player option of LeBron James, who can become an unrestricted free agent this summer and either sign a new contract with the Lakers or go elsewhere. LeBron James is reportedly waiting to see how the Lakers plan to improve the roster before making a decision on his future, and one way the Lakers could appease the four-time champion is to draft his son, Bronny James, in June.
The Lakers are reportedly interested in drafting Bronny if it means that it'll keep his dad happyLeBron James is in no rush to decide his future before June's NBA draft, according to reports

According to The Athletic, the Lakers are “open to the prospect” of drafting Bronny, allowing LeBron to fulfill his long-held dream of playing alongside his son in the NBA. The Lakers will have the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, which they could give to the Pelicans as part of the Anthony Davis trade in 2019. If the Pelicans choose to take Los Angeles’ first-round pick this year, the Lakers will only have two second-round picks available.
James - the NBA's all-time leading scorer - is eyeing Olympic gold this summer with Team USA LeBron James, Los Angeles LakersBronny’s draft projections are unclear following a freshman season at USC in which he averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists. He got a late start at USC after suffering a cardiac arrest in July, which kept him out of the lineup to begin the season. In CBS Sports’ most recent mock drafts, he is not projected to go in the first round, which means the Lakers could take him with one of their two second-round picks if he is available.

Bronny declared for the draft in early April, while also using the transfer portal to leave USC. He is maintaining his college eligibility during the draft process, so he may be able to return to school. But if he does forego the rest of his college eligibility in favor of the draft, The Athletic reports that the question isn’t whether he’ll be drafted, but rather which team and in what round.