Rich Paul did what agents do, trying to steer his client where he wanted to go with the Lakers, and reportedly told other teams, “If you draft him, he’ll play in Australia rather than for you.”
It worked, Bronny James stayed on the board until choosing the number 55, when the Lakers selected him. However, the Warriors seriously considered taking him at number 52, reports Ramona Shelburne at ESPN.
“… The Golden State Warriors, who tried to trade for James last season, weighed whether to take Bronny at No. 52. The Warriors liked Bronny’s ability and had him on their draft board, sources said. Selecting him before. the The Lakers holding the 55th pick would be a smart move — perhaps even to entice James to sign there as a free agent. But ultimately, sources said, the Warriors chose to honor the wishes that James made clear Laker signaled they would grant.
Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob reached out to Lakers governor Jeanie Buss during the previous season in an attempt to initiate LeBron James trade talks, which went nowhere. Drafting Bronny as a possible leverage to get LeBron was not just an idea in the Warriors front office, although LeBron (and Paul) said that the superstar will not go anywhere, all of which led to calls and the Australian threat.
In the end, it wasn’t worth it for Golden State. Bronny has potential, but anyone drafted in the back half of the second round is a long shot to make the NBA rotation in the future. They could take other dice that wouldn’t anger one of the most powerful agents around the league.
Bronny and LeBron are together in Los Angeles and don’t be surprised if the Lakers play them together early in the season, perhaps on opening night against Minnesota. The sense from league sources is that Los Angeles would like to do it, bypass all the attention on that story, and then focus on Bronny spending a lot of time in the G League and developing his game.
