NBA Draft: Bronny James, trade bait?

Bronny James. Bronny James. Bronny James.

The 2024 NBA Draft is upon us and the most recited name is a 6-foot-1 guard who averaged 4.8 points, 2.1 assists and 2.8 rebounds as mostly a bench player for a 15-18 USC team. If anything it was a triumph considering last fall James went into cardiac arrest after a preseason workout. No one knew if he’d play again.

When it comes to NBA potential, though, his game doesn’t do much to excite fans. A good defender and high character guy? Cool, but he’s projected to go in the second round mainly because his father’s team, the Los Angeles Lakers, owns the 55th overall pick.

The NBA picked an interesting year to begin stretching its annual draft over a two-day period. Round 1 will take place Wednesday at 8 p.m. Coverage of Round 2 will begin at 4 p.m. on Thursday.

“We believe that teams will benefit from being able to regroup between rounds,” the NBA’s head of basketball operations, Joe Dumars, said.

Perhaps, but this is what scouts are calling the least talented draft in memory, which has, in turn, made it the least exciting and least anticipated by fans. If last year was the start of the Victor Wembanyama Era, this one is, well, who the heck are these guys?

Some will pan out, but the collective enthusiasm over Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Matas Buzelis and so on isn’t exactly moving the needle. There are a few semi-familiar guys from UConn and other college teams, but you can’t find many in the NBA excited about this group.

“There will be lottery picks that might have been second-rounders in other years,” said one NBA personnel director.

It happens.

Then comes Bronny James, who soaked up a lot of the pre-draft hype because the top of the draft is boring, he’s got a famous name and LeBron previously said he wanted to play with his eldest before retiring. Plus, it involves the Lakers, who command an outsized amount of coverage.

As for Bronny as a player, it’s lukewarm at best. NBA media coverage is filled with favors for certain power agents, meaning Bronny isn’t the first prospect to get kid-glove treatment. Any potential positive trait has been hyped….

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba-draft-bronny-james-trade-bait-194426472.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-06-24 19:44:26

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