Earlier this week, ESPN released its latest 2024 NBA Mock Draft, and a name was suspiciously absent: Bronny James, the USC Trojan freshman, son of one LeBron James.
Bronny James was moved to the 2025 class instead, prompting speculation that his freshman season has been unimpressive enough to warrant him returning for a sophomore season instead of declaring in March.
LeBron James did as any father would and used the platforms of communication at his disposal to defend his son in a pair of now-deleted tweets, courtesy of USA Today:
James also tweeted this one year ago:
Man Bronny definitely better than some of these cats I've been watching on league pass today. Shit lightweight hilarious 🤣🤣🤣🤣
— LeBron James (@KingJames) March 7, 2023
Now, both things can be true. He can think his son is better than some NBA players, as most pro hoopers' dads do, and want his son to be able to enjoy being a kid. The dichotomy, of course, is interesting. But you also need to consider that his son suffered cardiac arrest, a heart attack, last summer. For his son to even be able to play competitively this soon is a testament to his work ethic, and it's understandable that it can shape some of his growth curves that have led to unimpressive play this fall and winter.
In the bigger picture, there are spinoff elements of this that could shape the NBA for years this upcoming summer. James has made mention of playing with his son several times, prompting speculation that a team could look to draft Bronny this summer as part of a "package deal" to land James in the final year or years of his career.
The headlines about Bronny's future accompany a report from Brian Windhorst, also of ESPN, earlier this week that James could be looking for one more deal with the Lakers, a "nine-figure," small number of years deal to close his career with LA.
So Bronny could potentially be at USC for another year, and James at the same time is reportedly considering one more deal with the Lakers. That doesn't feel like much of a coincidence.
It's also notable — given that executives have suggested increasing odds that James winds up elsewhere this summer after several years of tension with the Lakers' front office over personnel and coaching decisions.
But if James' desire to play with Bronny has softened slightly, as he suggested last season to the Athletic, that increases the chances of him finishing with the Lakers. James still has two kids in grade school: high schooler Bryce and youngest daughter Zhuri. He has significant business interests in LA through the various production and marketing extensions of his brand.
As one final piece of the pie, it's been less than a month since James' agent, Rich Paul of Klutch Sports, told Windhorst that James would not request a trade from the Lakers. This is speculative, but it's possible James thought about his future and reached the conclusion that he'll finish his career with the Lakers, regardless of their ability to put him in championship contention.
That would change things for several teams. At All-Star Weekend, league sources speculated that the Sixers and Mavericks would be interested in providing James one more run at a title, alongside the Warriors, who reportedly broached a trade offer for James and, of course, his home state and longtime franchise, the Cavaliers.
James staying with the Lakers on a deal worth that amount would also impact the Lakers' pursuit of a third star this summer. They can re-sign James with Bird rights this summer after signing a third star, but that amount of money would also put the Lakers into a perilous position for upgrades on the roster as a whole. Maybe they don't need others given their confidence that this year's currently-31-28 team can compete when healthy.
It's possible that the Lakers, armed with their three first-round picks they hope to use to entice a star this summer in trade, can put together the best chance for James to win one more title, which is significant. Five titles would put James past Stephen Curry and one short of Michael Jordan, adding credit to his case for the Greatest of All Time.
James has already spent more years with the Lakers than the Heat, and if he plays another 2, it will have been eight years with the Lakers. He'll be nearly as much of a Laker as a Cavalier, a wild thing to think about given when he joined the purple and yellow.
