USC rookie guard Bronny James will remain in the 2024 NBA draft and forego his remaining college eligibility, Klutch Sports CEO Rich Paul told ESPN.
Hours before Wednesday's NCAA deadline at 11:59 p.m. ET, Paul told ESPN: “He's going to stay in the draft.”
James, the No. 54 prospect on ESPN 100, has had a solid pre-draft process and elevated his standing from fringe prospect to draftable prospect. James, son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, declared for the draft and entered the transfer portal in early April. As expected, he completed his college basketball career and focused all of his attention on the NBA.
“Bronny [draft] The range is wide,” Paul told ESPN. “He's a really good prospect who has a lot of room to grow. You only need one team. I don't care where that team is, he can be number 1 or 58. [but] I care about the plan, the development. The team strategy, opportunity and financial commitment. That's why I'm not doing a two-way deal. “All the teams understand it.”
Each NBA team has three two-way contracts in addition to 15 regular roster spots. Bilateral agreements limit players to 45 days on an NBA roster with the corresponding salary, and the rest of the season is spent in the G League. Two-way deals are often offered to second-round and undrafted prospects.
James, 19, proved himself to be one of the fastest and most explosive athletes at the NBA draft combine in Chicago earlier this month, placing second out of 71 participants in two three-point shooting drills. James also scored 13 points in a combined team fight.
He participated in a well-attended pro day at the Lakers' practice facility last week, where he again demonstrated his explosiveness in highlights and improving his perimeter shooting ability.
James enrolled at USC last summer after having strong performances at the McDonald's All American Game and Nike Hoop Summit, but his freshman season was derailed by a bout of cardiac arrest in July that led to a procedure to treat a defect. congenital heart That kept him sidelined for almost five months.
He made his college debut in mid-December and averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes per game. USC finished a disappointing 15-18 and near the bottom of the Pac-12 standings.
James was medically cleared to be selected by the NBA's Fitness to Play Panel on the eve of the draft combine, sources told ESPN, allowing him to fully participate in the week's on-court activities.
With a month until the NBA draft on June 26-27, Paul said he and his team are determining a strategy for which and how many team workouts to hold.
“We're still figuring it out,” Paul told ESPN. “A lot of teams have called. It's a matter of analyzing the workouts and finding out who's real and who's not. There are only two or three teams that could sign him. That's how I'm going to approach that.”
Because he is LeBron James' son, there has been a major conversation about Bronny James ending up on the Lakers.
“The Lakers need to look at Bronny like everyone else,” Paul told ESPN. “If they value him enough and he's there, that's great. If it's not the Lakers, that's great. I won't be mad if it's not. It's obvious that people hear the conversation about the father and son playing together, but that's not our focus. If it happens organically, great, I don't rely on that.
“I'm not putting unrealistic expectations on Bronny. He's far from a finished product. But he's off to a great start. He's well-positioned… I don't see him going undrafted, but if he gets to a point where situations didn't make sense and we needed to not get drafted, that's fine.”
As an undrafted player, James could sign a free agent contract with any team.
Jonathan Givony is an NBA draft expert and founder and co-owner of DraftExpress.com, a private scouting and analysis service used by the NBA, NCAA and international teams.
