Bronny James has always been in the spotlight. After all, he is the son of arguably the greatest player in NBA history. But name aside, what matters the most is his play on the court. He impressed during his time at Sierra Canyon High School, before committing to play at the University of Southern California.
But, James went into cardiac arrest in August of 2023, delaying his debut for the Trojans a little longer than expected. What mattered the most is that he would be okay and the young prospect fully recovered.
His first game was on December 10th against Long Beach State. In 17 minutes, he had four points, three rebounds, and two assists for the Trojans. Not an impressive stat line, but then again, his playing time was low because of the starting guards ahead of him in Boogie Ellis and Isaiah Collier.
Even when he was on the court, he didn’t make much of an impact. He averaged just 4.8 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 2.1 APG. James shot just 36.6% from the field in 25 games played. With that said, you would think he would return to campus and improve his stock.
Instead, James declared for the NBA Draft on April 5th, 2024. He also retained his college eligibility and entered the transfer portal. More importantly, you would think this all means that the Los Angeles Lakers will draft him this year.
But, the truth is: the Lakers should not draft Bronny James.
An Unfortunate End To The Season
The Lakers were bounced in five games by the Denver Nuggets during the playoffs recently. Despite a hot streak to end the regular season and clinching the seventh-seed after the play-in tournament, their reward was facing the defending champs. Despite leading for most of the games in the series, blown leads and heroics from Jamal Murray were the Lakers’ demise.
It wasn’t long before the team fired Darvin Ham and the entire coaching staff. As they look to find their new coach, Rob Pelinka and the rest of the front office know this roster needs to be vastly improved. The bench was atrocious during the first round, and inconsistent play from D’Angelo Russell and Rui Hachimura are things to consider. We can talk about the Lakers needing to go find a third star. But, we saw what happened the last time the Lakers tried to do that (Russell Westbrook…).
So, The Lakers Should Draft Bronny Right?
No, absolutely not.
First, the Lakers need to figure out if D’Angelo Russell will pick up his player option. The same can be said for guys like Christian Wood, Jaxson Hayes, and Cam Reddish.
LeBron James made it clear he wants to remain with the team and play up to two more years.
This roster needs to be vastly improved, and free agents such as Klay Thompson, Pascal Siakam, Buddy Hield, and others will be available (I am not saying they’ll be looking to sign these guys, just naming a few that will be available if the money is right).
Trades could happen as well. If Russell and Wood pick up their options, they can be traded to get a player who will be a better fit.
But, the easiest solution is to find a diamond in the rough in the NBA Draft. Los Angeles will have their first-round pick in this upcoming draft. New Orleans opted to take their pick next year instead.
They will officially have the 17th overall pick. But, that doesn’t mean they should draft Bronny to make LeBron happy.
Bronny Isn’t Ready
When it comes to his strengths, the younger James is a solid defender who is a capable handler in the pick-and-roll and can shoot from beyond the arc.
But, he does have glaring weaknesses.
He’s not an assertive scorer and lacks the typical shake you see from elite guard prospects, failing to create separation from his defender. He’s a reliable ball handler, but it will be important for James to get more creative as a dribbler and establish some go-to moves as a shot-creator.
His consistency as a shooter off the catch from 3-point range will be his biggest swing skill as a prospect, but he could help his draft stock even more if he can prove he can score in the midrange and at the rim more frequently.
Sporting News on Bronny James
Add that in with his unspectacular stats, and Bronny isn’t worth being chosen in the first round.
Now, if the Lakers decide to possibly trade down to grab extra picks, then it won’t be much of a reach to grab the young prospect. It’s been made extremely clear that LeBron wants to play with his son. But, if he wants to win soon, then there are better players the team should pursue in the draft with the 17th pick (CBS Sports have them selecting guard Devin Carter from Providence).
In the end, it will be a storybook ending if Bronny James does get drafted by the Lakers. But, at the same time, they shouldn’t because it won’t help the team contend for a championship when teams like the Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Minnesota Timberwolves, and others exist.
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