Bronny James will remain in the 2024 NBA Draft, agent says

Bronny James, the son of NBA star LeBron James, will remain in the 2024 NBA draft and forgo his remaining college eligibility, their agent Rich Paul told ESPN ahead of Wednesday’s NCAA deadline. The athlete I previously reported this decision was expected.

“Bruny.” [draft] “The scope is wide,” Paul told ESPN. “He’s a really good prospect who has a lot of room to grow. It only takes one team. I don’t care where that team is, it could be No. 1 or 58.” [but] I care about the plan and development.

“Team strategy, opportunity and financial commitment. That’s why I don’t do a two-way deal. Every team understands that.”

The Phoenix Suns – the team that carries No. 22 – will hold a workout with James before the draft, because he is among several players under consideration, The athlete Previously mentioned. James has received more than 10 invitations to work out, but is expected to visit a few teams, including the Suns and Los Angeles Lakers.

James, who suffered a cardiac arrest last July before returning to the court for his freshman season at USC, was given full clearance to play by the NBA’s Fitness to Play Committee and participated in all pre-draft activities, starting with the NBA Draft Combine in earlier time. This month.

Although he is not considered a top prospect, James is not included on the list The athletePost-Lottery Mock Draft His title and trip to the court after a serious health scare make him one of the standout players in this year’s draft class.

There is also added curiosity about whether James and his father could become teammates. LeBron expressed his desire to end his career playing alongside his son.

The younger James collapsed after suffering cardiac arrest during a USC team practice in July. A family spokesman said that a congenital heart defect caused the accident. Doctors cleared him to return to practice four months later, and he made his college debut on December 10 against Long Beach State. He appeared in USC’s final 25 games, starting six games and averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.3 minutes.

Questions surrounding his future accelerated when his college coach at USC, Andy Enfield, left for the vacant head coach position at SMU in March.

James, 19, declared his participation in the NBA Draft on April 5. He also entered the transfer portal to maintain flexibility while training with NBA teams.

After USC’s coaching change, LeBron said Bronny had “some tough decisions to make” regarding his future.

“At the end of the day, Bronny is his own man,” LeBron said in April.

The younger James’ decision comes before a big one for his father, who must decide whether to pick up his $51.4 million player option for the 2024-2025 season by June 29. Team sources said last month that the Lakers were open to the possibility of helping LeBron fulfill his dream of playing with his son by recruiting him.

LeBron refused to answer a question about whether he played his last game with the Lakers after Los Angeles was eliminated in five games by the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The NBA Draft takes place June 26-27.

Scouting report on Bronny James

Bronny projects as a 3-and-D guard who plays hard, makes good decisions on offense, does the little things, passes well, leads quick attacks off defensive rebounds, fills transition lanes and attacks the rim when he gets a chance. He’s a great defensive player who fights at the point of attack and has the length and foot quickness to stick with most guards.

James’ offense is a work in progress. He has struggled to generate any paint touches in the half court this year and has not been a shooter yet. He made just 27 percent of his 3s last season, even though he looked more confident taking them to USC and has more shooting talent than his Centennial performances. — Sam Vecini, NBA draft writer

Do Bruni’s harvester measurements matter?

We’ve finally got confirmation on James’ exact size. He stands 6-foot-1 1/2 without shoes, has a wingspan of 6-7 1/4, and a standing reach of 8-2 1/2. This is much smaller than the 6-4 height he was listed at while playing at USC, but it’s important to remember that colleges list players’ heights in shoes. While the Trojans added an extra inch to Bronny’s height, they didn’t oversell him significantly. Furthermore, NBA teams were operating under the assumption that James was on the court at 6-2 anyway.

James’ arrival standing puts him much more in the ballpark of a point guard than a combo player or shooting guard. Previous players who have gone 8-2 1/2 in the group include Bruce Brown, Colin Sexton, Terry Rozier and Avery Bradley. James is a little stronger and braver than most of these players. -Vicini

How much does offering shooting training help him?

James’ success during shooting drills serves as a reminder to evaluators that James has the ability to shoot the ball despite his percentages. Having said that, as I wrote a month ago, “He showed much greater shooting potential as a player in high school than he did in college. There’s nothing inherently wrong with his mechanics. Maybe he was out of rhythm after not being allowed to play during the offseason.”

NBA teams didn’t go into this process thinking James was incapable of shooting the basketball. This is the part of his offensive game, and they actually have the most confidence in translating it to the pros. Plus, these shots are just a drop in the bucket. Any of the hundreds of scouts and executives who were at the Nike Hoop Summit last year saw James shoot a sample that was much larger than the number he took at the combine. And of course, the shots he took so quickly last season are still the most important. While this may have changed some people’s minds, I don’t know that it has moved the needle that much. -Vicini

What about his vertical jump?

It’s good to confirm what people already think, but again, the evaluators were operating under the assumption that James would do very well athletically. This probably didn’t move the needle much for James in a positive way, but confirming preconceptions is important. -Vicini

Required reading

(Photo: Jeff Haynes/NBAE via Getty Images)