Bronny James is the biggest name in the 2024 NBA Draft for obvious reasons, even though he's arguably a second-rounder at best. Reasonable minds can disagree on that assertion, but the fact is a 6-foot-2 guard who averaged five points in 25 college games would not be on many drafts boards, let alone as a potential first-round pick, without the LeBron bump.
But here he is, with a reported workout invite from as many as 10 teams. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, however, James will only visit a few of those teams who've extended the offer. The Lakers are one of them. Another is the Phoenix Suns, who own the No. 22 overall pick this year.
The Phoenix Suns will conduct a workout with Bronny James ahead of the June NBA Draft, sources say. Phoenix has the 22nd pick and he is among several players in consideration. Bronny has over 10 workout invites but is expected to only visit a few teams, including Lakers and Suns. pic.twitter.com/3s7ElKRe0P
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 24, 2024
The key wording from Charania is "among several players in consideration." Again, Bronny would almost certainly be a second-rounder at best, and arguably not even that, were it not for his last name, but here Phoenix is considering him in the late first round as a potential high-floor defensive piece in the mold of Davion Mitchell.
That's at least a reasonable comp for Bronny, and as our Bill Reiter pointed out, it speaks to the undeniable maturity with which Bronny has consistently carried himself amid an extraordinary level of scrutiny for a 19-year-old. He is realistic about his skillset. He doesn't have visions of superstar grandeur. He wants to be a guy who simply helps a team win on the margins, and there's reason to believe he can do that.
And hey, if the possibility of his father joining him to play together at the end of his career is a little extra incentive for a team to draft him, so be it. Many late first-rounders and most all second-rounders are total guesses anyway. Only a few will actually become good players in the league. Most will be gone in a couple years.
Now for what it's worth, our Colin Ward-Henninger projected the top 10 landing spots for Bronny and the Suns were not one of them. Phoenix doesn't hold a second-round pick, and again, using a first-round pick on Bronny is highly risky.
But the Suns are at least interested, and it doesn't hurt to take a look at him in a workout and get a chance to sit down with him and pick what appears to be a very mature brain with a high basketball IQ and notable perspective for such a young man. These are all big positives on a draft profile, and from that standpoint, the interest in Bronny is understandable with or without his last name.
