Suns Remain Interested In Selecting Bronny James In Draft

June 26, 2024

The Phoenix Suns are already all over the NBA rumor mill, and adding to that is the news they remain interested in drafting USC guard Bronny James, as relayed by Marc Stein of The Stein Line.

For the record, the Suns own the No. 22 overall pick. James, the son of Los Angeles Lakers legend LeBron James, is viewed as a second-round pick or an undrafted free agent.

But that doesn’t mean that LeBron would join the Suns if they were indeed to take Bronny. And that comes straight from agent Rich Paul.

LeBron would have to take a massive pay cut to join the Suns, and according to Paul of Klutch Sports Group, that won’t happen.

“LeBron is off this idea of having to play with Bronny,” Paul told ESPN. “If he does, he does. But if he doesn’t, he doesn’t. There’s no deal made that it’s guaranteed that if the Lakers draft Bronny at 55, he [LeBron] will re-sign. If that were the case, I would force them to take him at 17. We don’t need leverage. The Lakers can draft Bronny and LeBron doesn’t re-sign. LeBron is also not going to Phoenix for a minimum deal. We can squash that now.”

Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks for USC this season while shooting 36.6% from the field, 26.7% from beyond the arc and 67.6% from the free-throw line. So the numbers were low, but in fairness, he overcame a heart scare before the beginning of the season.

He also played well in the second scrimmage in Chicago at the NBA Combine, finishing with 13 points in 23 minutes while shooting 4-of-10 from beyond the arc.

Along with that, he fared very well in the 3-point shooting drill, going 19-of-25 from deep.

Meanwhile, LeBron is expected to remain with the Lakers, despite the fact he can become an unrestricted free agent this offseason by declining his 2024-25 player option.

A report from Sam Amick of The Athletic also suggested LeBron’s future won’t be determined by where Bronny lands in the NBA.

“As for the Bronny James factor, league sources say LeBron’s plans will not be impacted by where his son lands in this week’s draft,” Amick wrote. “Still, it’s worth noting that the former USC guard only worked out for the Lakers (who have No. 17 and No. 55) and Phoenix (which has No. 22).”