Bronny James to Stay in NBA Draft Despite Negative Talks from Scouts: Agent
Bronny James, son of NBA star and all-time leading scorer LeBron James, has decided to stay in the 2024-25 NBA draft amid debates about his return to the college and negative talks from the scouts, Fox News reported.
Bronny declared his availability for the NBA Draft last month but did not get the due attention from scouts. There were rumours that he might as well return to college as he also entered the transfer portal later.
However, James’ agent Rich Paul announced late on Wednesday that he will stay in the NBA Draft and forgo the remainder of his college eligibility.
The announcement comes on the last day of the deadline to opt out of the draft.
“He’s staying in the draft,” Paul responded to an ESPN query.
James was picked as McDonald’s All-American last year but, a couple months later, he suffered a cardiac arrest during a workout.
Upon his return to the game, he averaged less than five points per game during his only season at USC.
Considering his underperformance, one scout said James was “not an NBA prospect.” Another wrote it would be a surprise if any franchise other than the LeBron James-led Los Angeles Lakers drafted him.
On the contrary, The Athletic reported that over ten teams have invited Junior James to work out for them ahead of the draft. The publication said Bronny turned down all but two of the franchises – Lakers and Phoenix Suns.
If so, the Lakers are more likely to draft Bronny as their 17th pick, while the Suns own the 22nd pick.
While the Suns don’t have any particular reason to rope in Bronny, the Lakers would obviously do that to keep LeBron James around for at least another year.
Besides, LeBron has often expressed his desire to play with his son. However, in a recent interview, he said his main focus was on developing his son rather than playing with him.
