Bronny James reportedly expected to stay in 2024 NBA Draft

The Lakers could now be faced with an interesting decision as Bronny James will reportedly stay in the 2024 NBA Draft.

Much of the future of LeBron James, both with the Lakers and in the NBA, has been tied to his son Bronny. While there has been plenty in recent weeks to suggest that the ties between the two are a little looser than they once were, LeBron and Bronny are going to be interlinked as long as they’re in the league together.

And it appears they’ll soon be in the league together. On Monday, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that Bronnywould remain in the 2024 NBA Draft.

While it was once LeBron’s end goal to play on the same team as Bronny, the most recent report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN after a conversation with Rich Paul, the agent for both LeBron and Bronny, was that playing on the same court was enough.

That takes a good amount of the pressure off the Lakers, who already appeared to be leaning against drafting Bronny. But it’ll still going to create an interesting scenario.

The team seems pretty set on trading their first round draft pick, should the Pelicans defer it, for more instant help. But would they trade up or use their No. 55 pick on Bronny, if he’s available?

The latest mock draft from DraftExpress does not include Bronny among its projected draft picks. Whether that is because he was projected to return to college or because he isn’t seen as someone who will be drafted is unclear.

Because of the timeline of how things play out, Bronny’s situation will play out before LeBron’s, which will certainly lead to lots of hot takes. Everything that’s been reported has been that it is no longer imperative in LeBron’s mind that the two play together and that LeBron wants to remain in Los Angeles.

But with Bronny now out there and likely available in the draft, will the Lakers still remain steadfast in that belief?

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