I hate to break it to Lakers fans, but there’s only one scenario that Lebron is in a Lakers jersey next year, and that’s if they draft Bronny in the 1st round of this years draft.
Don’t believe me, just think about it; Lebron came out yesterday and simply said “no” when asked if he had given any thought about his Player Option this Summer…. yeah ok. I don’t give Lebron a lot of credit, honestly I don’t think he’s very smart (see trying to Trademark “Taco Tuesday” as an example), but in this scenario he knew exactly what he was doing. He set himself up perfectly so he can elect Free Agency the same year his oldest son is eligible for the NBA draft.
With that fact, one of two scenarios will unfold this Summer.
- If for some reason Bronny doesn’t enter the NBA draft, Lebron can opt into his Player Option for $50million and stay with the Lakers for another year (again until his son enters the draft)
- If Bronny does enter the draft, he can sign as a free agent with the team that drafts him and they can become the first father/son duo to ever play in the NBA.
Lebron has one of the biggest ego’s in the world, so you just know he’d love to tell everyone “look at what a great dad I am” or some other way to make sure the spotlight is on him. Even worse, you just know they’d have a stupid nickname for themselves, and every time they were on TV (and it would be a lot) we’d have to hear it the entire game.
The real question, should a team take a flyer on drafting Bronny James with the thought they’ll be getting Lebron James too, and if so how high do you draft him? Currently ESPN doesn’t even have Bronny in their top 100 draft prospects, so with a different last name, not only does he not get drafted in Round 1, it’s almost a lock he doesn’t hear his name at all. But, he does have James as his last name, and that could carry a lot of weight when it comes to his draft stock. Is it possible that Rich Paul (Lebron’s Agent) could drop some hints to teams working Bronny out during the draft process? “Would be great to see Lebron and Bronny in a (insert team) jersey together”.
So where in the draft process does a team gamble and draft Bronny in hopes of getting Lebron too. If you are a the top of the draft, do you risk passing on a significantly better player to get Lebron (at age 39) and son to help sell tickets? Have to imagine in the Blazers drafted Bronny and signed Lebron, the city of Portland would pack that building even though they are still just a 30 win team. What about a team like the Pacers who are currently 6th in the East? Do they look to add Lebron (and Bronny) to a roster with a strong youthful foundation to help push them over the top? Is that better than adding a better young player who could contribute immediately and help solidify that roster for the next 5 years?
I don’t know the answer, honestly if I was a GM in the middle of the 1st round, it would be a difficult decision, especially since it’s not a deep draft. But don’t be mistaken, it’s not Bronny whom teams would be selecting, sure it might be his name called on draft night….but King James is that actual prize.
