USC Trojans freshman Bronny James was one of the biggest winners of the 2024 NBA Draft Combine. Now, he has interest around the league.
Bronny, who is expected to stay in this class but recently told reporters that he doesn’t necessarily want to play with his father in the NBA, performed well while in Chicago. While a bit undersized at 6-foot-1.5 in socks, his other measurements were good.
He had a an 8-foot-2.5 standing reach and 6-foot-7.25 wingspan while weighing 210.4 pounds, proving that he can play a bit bigger than his listed height.
The freshman also showed legitimate vertical pop, recording a 40.5-inch max vertical during athletic testing. His 32-inch standing reach was also solid and he fared well in the speed and agility runs as well.
The Jazz have expressed interest in bringing Bronny James in for an individual workout and could be interested in him with the 32nd pick, sources told @YahooSports.
Other possible landing spots for Bronny (and maybe LeBron). ⬇️https://t.co/3Zgg0q7MK8
— Krysten Peek (@krystenpeek) May 16, 2024
This was enough to potentially raise eyebrows around the league, including from the Utah Jazz. Here is more from Krysten Peek (via Yahoo):
“The Jazz have expressed interest in bringing Bronny in for an individual workout and could be interested in him with the 32nd pick, sources told Yahoo Sports. The franchise has been patiently rebuilding behind the leadership of Danny Ainge, and bringing in Bronny with the hopes of luring a superstar like LeBron could be the jump owner Ryan Smith is looking for to add a spark to the Jazz.”
Long before the 2024 NBA Combine, Bronny was already reportedly on multiple team draft boards despite USC’s struggles this season.
But after leading his team in scoring with 13 points off the bench during his second scrimmage, perhaps there is interest in him as a prospect beyond the idea of selecting him just to try to sign his dad as a free agent.
The Lakers are reportedly very open to drafting Bronny and Los Angeles is where several mock drafts have him landing. The Jazz, however, are wise to leak potential interest.
This is a savvy move by Danny Ainge, who is the CEO of Basketball Operations for the franchise. The Jazz are a potential competitor of the Lakers in the Western Conference and Ainge is a former executive of the Celtics, the most notable rival of Los Angeles.
Even if Utah doesn’t actually want to draft Bronny, this puts the Lakers in a bit of a predicament. They’re basically daring them: If you want to select the son of the NBA’s all-time scoring leader so he can play alongside his father in the NBA, perhaps you will need to trade with us (or ahead of us) to get the pick.
If they can score an asset or two from Los Angeles to make it happen, that is brilliant. Or if they can force the Lakers to give something up to leapfrog the draft position, that works in Utah’s favor as well. Well-played, Ainge.
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