Draft Bronny, get one (1) LeBron free. No coupon code required.
LeBron James has suggested it before, but today he flat out said it: he wants to end his career playing with his son, Bronny James. Via The Athletic:
James said Saturday he’ll go anywhere to play with his son, Bronny James.
Bronny is a high school junior. Under the league’s current system, he wouldn’t be draft-eligible for two more years, leaving James in contract purgatory for one year. The league could change its stance to allow high school players to go directly to the NBA, which would align Bronny’s draft eligibility with James’ current contract status. The league changing the rule before then, however, seems unlikely.
Nevertheless, James’ message to all 30 teams Saturday was clear: If you want me, draft Bronny.
“My last year will be played with my son,” James said. “Wherever Bronny is at, that’s where I’ll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It’s not about the money at that point.”
That’s as unequivocal as it gets.
James the Elder, 37, is still playing at an exceptionally high level this year, and it’s not at all inconceivable that he will still be a highly-in-demand player a couple seasons from now (to say nothing of the potential ancillary bonuses that come with having LeBron as part of your team-building process (er, well, I suppose that doesn’t always work out … )). So the question is, would a team clearly overdraft Bronny in order to get LeBron on board? And if so, how high would a team reach to draft the Bronny/LeBron combo? Especially if you know that you could get LeBron to sign for a bare bones price tag?
I won’t claim to be an expert on high school basketball prospects, but from what you read out there, Bronny is considered a legitimately good prospect, albeit not one whom you’d already say clearly has an NBA future. So that is a considerable complicating factor in pairing up the father and son.
A lesser complicating factor, as noted by The Athletic, is that LeBron’s deal with the Lakers is up after next season, so he’ll have a year there to fill before Bronny is (hypothetically) drafted. I suppose we’ll get another confirmation of his seriousness if and when he signs a one-year extension/deal.
In the end, I tend to think this will be a little fun to follow, and then – if it happens – fun to watch play out. Maybe it’s the dad in me, or the guy who loved seeing Ken Griffey Jr. get to play with his pop with the Mariners. These situations are obviously as rare as they come, and I think I’d enjoy seeing it happen.