Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, is now a member of the Los Angeles Lakers after the Lakers took him with the No. 55 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. It wasn’t exactly a surprise, and that wasn’t only because his father plays for the Lakers.
Some may say that Rich Paul, the agent for both the elder and younger James, has looked to steer the latter to the Purple and Gold. The younger James only worked out for a limited number of teams, and of course, one of those teams was the Lakers.
Former Golden State Warriors executive Bob Myers, who is now a member of ESPN’s NBA broadcast crew, said Paul made a unique threat shortly before the Lakers drafted the younger James. According to Myers, Paul told teams other than the Lakers that if they drafted the younger James, the younger James would play in Australia instead.
"Rich Paul is calling teams, don't take Bronny James … if you take him, he's going to Australia." 😳
Bob Myers on Bronny James' draft status 👀 pic.twitter.com/p6mWNMAjma
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) June 27, 2024
Early in 2023, Larry Kestelman, who owns the Australia-based National Basketball League, said he reached out to the younger James, as well as his father, in order to lure both of them to the NBL.
Perhaps it was an empty threat, but it is now a moot point. The elder James is now on his way to playing on the same NBA team as his son.