Lakers open to drafting Bronny James with LeBron’s future in L.A. uncertain, per report

The Lakers’ season ended Monday night at the hands of a Jamal Murray game-winning shot to send the Denver Nuggets to the next round of the NBA playoffs, and send L.A. on summer vacation. It wasn’t a terribly surprising outcome, given the Nuggets had been dominant for most of the series, even after the Lakers managed to avoid a sweep by winning Game 4. But that doesn’t make it any less disappointing for a franchise that has championship-or-bust expectations seemingly every season. 

With their season over, the Lakers now face another uncertain offseason filled with massive decisions to be made about the roster and coaching staff. 

It’s already been reported that Darvin Ham’s position as head coach is in real jeopardy after just two seasons, as his relationships with Lakers players waxed and waned this season, and the team failed to make a deeper run in the postseason. There’s also the looming player option of LeBron James, who can decide to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, to either get a new deal with the Lakers or sign elsewhere. LeBron is reportedly planning to see how the Lakers plan to improve the roster leading up to the offseason before making a decision on his future, and one way the Lakers could try to appease the four-time champion is drafting his son, Bronny James, this June.

The Athletic reports that the Lakers are “open to the prospect” of drafting Bronny, fulfilling LeBron’s widely talked about dream of playing alongside his son in the NBA. The Lakers will have the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, which could be conveyed to the Pelicans as part of the Anthony Davis trade in 2019. If the Pelicans opt to take L.A.’s first round pick this year, then the Lakers will only have two second-round picks at their disposal.

It’s unclear exactly where Bronny projects to go in the draft after a freshman season at USC that saw him average just 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists. He got a late start at USC after suffering a cardiac arrest in July which kept him sidelined to start the season. In CBS Sports’ latest mock drafts he’s currently not projected to go in the first round, which means the Lakers could very well take him with one of their two picks in the second round if he’s available. 

Bronny declared for the draft in early April while also entering the transfer portal to leave USC. He’s maintaining his college eligibility through the draft process, so there’s still a possibility that he could return to school. But if he indeed does forgo the rest of his college eligibility in favor of the draft, The Athletic reports that it’s not a matter of if he’s drafted, but rather to what team and in what part of the draft.