Report: Bronny James to only work out with Lakers, Suns?
Days after NBA insider Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that guard Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, would only visit a “few teams” that included the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns, the 6-foot-1 guard has reportedly narrowed down his pre-draft workouts to just those two teams, Charania disclosed Tuesday.
“Bronny James has over 10 workout invites during the pre-draft process,” he said. “He’s only going to visit a couple, and that’s going to include the Lakers and Phoenix Suns.”
There’s been contentious conversation surrounding whether or not the former USC guard should declare for this year’s draft or return for another season in college, which he has until tomorrow to decide.
James, who suffered a life-altering cardiac arrest last summer, did not have a full offseason or a full season with USC, which completely changed the trajectory of his 2023-24 season. He averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists, shooting 36.6 percent from the floor, 26.7 percent from 3-point range and 67.6 percent from the free-throw line.
Charania mentioned that the developmental plans and guaranteed money regardless of where James is selected, but the Suns only own the No. 22 pick while the Lakers own the No. 55 pick in the second round, unless the Pelicans want to defer the Lakers’ 2024 first-round pick (No. 17) to 2025.
To give perspective on where James ranks amongst other prospects, ESPN has him as the 54th-best prospect; The Ringer has him at No. 69 and Tankathon has him at No. 72.
That doesn’t mean he won’t end up being a top-50 player in the class 10 years down the line nor does that mean these big boards are correct or incorrect. The point is that he’s not a top-5 prospect who should–realistically–decline myriad workouts.
I’m not him nor his agent, Rich Paul–who’s one of the most powerful agents in sports–but I don’t think he’s doing himself justice by forgoing nearly a dozen workouts. Phoenix has made it known in the past that they don’t care enough about the draft relative to other organizations and the Lakers are the team his dad plays for.
The latter has been far better at developing prospects than the former in recent memory. But James could also benefit from an organization like Miami, San Antonio, Toronto, Golden State, Memphis, Indiana and Oklahoma City, among others (assuming any are interested) … ones who have done fair jobs developing talent in their respective systems.
Whether it’s Phoenix or Los Angeles, should these reports be true, I wish the best for Bronny James and his career. The draft is less than one month away, so who knows if his mind will change regarding taking other workouts, whomever those 10 teams were.
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