Dallas Mavericks president Nico Harrison declined to comment on draft prospect Bronny James on Friday after the team was reportedly said to be interested in him.
James has been heavily linked to the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix Suns as potential destinations in the NBA draft. He has only worked out for them in the predraft process as he and his agent, Rich Paul, have been selective with his visits.
However, Paul told ESPN this week that three other teams have expressed interest in James: Dallas, Minnesota and Toronto. He said the Mavericks could be a potential landing spot for James with the 58th pick in the second round.
“Minnesota would love to get Bronny in, but I don’t know who their owner is going to be,” Paul told ESPN. “Nico Harrison is like an uncle to Bronny. If the Lakers don’t take him at 55, Dallas would take him at 58 and give him a guaranteed deal. Masai (Ujiri, Raptors president,) loves him. They could take him without even seeing him at 31. Workouts aren’t everything for these teams.”
The Mavericks currently have just the 58th pick in the draft. With James most commonly linked to the Lakers at No. 55, the Mavericks would theoretically have to trade up to take before him L.A. is on the clock on Thursday.
Harrison was asked about James in his end-of-season press conference on Friday, though, because of league rules preventing executives from publicly commenting on draft prospects, couldn’t say much about the former USC guard.
“I don’t think I can say anything about players that are not drafted,” Harrison said. “Rich is going to say what he is going to say.”
James, the eldest son of LeBron James, averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists on 36.6% shooting from the field in 25 games as a freshman at USC. He scored in double figures three times, including a season-high 15 points and three assists on Dec. 30.
The 19-year-old appears to have a handful of teams that he could potentially land, with the Lakers and Suns the likely front-runners at this point of the process. With the draft moving to two nights this year, it likely won’t be until Thursday until we learn where James will go.
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