LeBron James has long talked about wanting to play with his son, Bronny, in the NBA. He's said before that he either wants to play with, or line up against his son before he retires. So with the 2024 NBA Draft just over a month away, all eyes will certainly be on where Bronny lands.
The Lakers have been open to the possibility of drafting Bronny, but other teams could be enticed at the idea of taking him if it meant they got a shot at also signing LeBron. But a recent report suggests that LeBron won't jump ship from the Lakers just to go play with his son, per Shams Charania.
"It would not surprise me in the coming weeks, if a team does reach out to Rich Paul or anyone else around Bronny James or LeBron James himself, and says, 'Hey if we draft Bronny James, would you come as well LeBron?' And the answer to that is going to be no, as of right now,'" Charania said. "That's not a given, that's not something that's going to be preordained."
While that stance could change as we've seen wild things happen in this league, that has to be a huge sigh of relief for the Lakers, who are under some pressure to not only retain LeBron who has a player option this summer, but to also find a suitable head coach after firing Darvin Ham. Los Angeles also needs to improve the roster to contend in the Western Conference next season. Hearing that LeBron isn't planning on leaving to whatever team lands Bronny is a positive for the Lakers, but that doesn't mean LeBron won't use it as a leverage tactic to sign his son.
And while all signs are pointing to the Lakers drafting Bronny in the second round, it's never been a dream of his to play with his father.
"My dream has always just been to put my name out, make a name for myself, and get to the NBA, which is everyone's end goal that's here," Bronny said at the NBA Draft Combine. "I never thought about just playing with my dad. But of course, he's brought it up a couple of times."
It makes all the sense in the world for the Lakers to draft Bronny: it keeps LeBron happy, it's a low risk move to take him late in the second round, and there's a chance he could actually work out in the long run as a defensive-minded player. But there's also a world in which another team takes Bronny before the Lakers get the chance to. But if that happens, it sounds like LeBron won't be hitching his wagon to whichever team he winds up on. At least not right now.
