The NBA Draft class of 2024 is one of the weakest in a few years, but one of the biggest stories from recent years is set as Bronny James looks set to join the league.
The son of LeBron James, arguably the greatest player of all-time, has declared for the draft despite having another year of college eligibility, and the question now has become which team will Bronny join rather than who will be the No.1 pick.
We’ll take a look at the options for the prodigy and who has the best chance of landing him for their roster, while providing our best free NBA betting picks to try and earn you some extra cash.
Team to draft Bronny James | |||
---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles Lakers | -150 | -130 | -130 |
Phoenix Suns | +200 | +175 | +175 |
New York Knicks | +1600 | +1800 | +1800 |
Los Angeles Clippers | +1800 | +1800 | +1800 |
Cleveland Cavaliers | +2000 | +2200 | +2200 |
Philadelphia 76ers | +2000 | +2200 | +2200 |
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Below you’ll find a list of the teams that are favorites to pick Bronny James in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Of course the Los Angeles Lakers are the favorites to draft the 19-year-old, because his dad is currently the top man in their team despite being the ripe old age of 39 heading into the new season.
LeBron made it clear after his team crashed out of the playoffs that “it’s all about family”, which suggests his future may well be linked to wherever his son ends up. He has a player-option in his contract which triggers three days after the draft concludes, which leaves things up in the air in that regard.
With the Lakers desperate to keep their star man, they know that their best chance of keeping him is by drafting in his son and giving them the opportunity to play together before he ultimately retires.
It also would make sense for LeBron to stick around in LA considering he now is as much a media mogul and businessman as he is a professional basketball player, but this is about his son more than it is about him.
Bronny impressed in the NBA combine with his three-point shooting and 40-inch vertical leap, but he stands at just 6-foot-1-and-a-half without shoes and his averages from his lone college season with the Trojans wasn’t great.
The Lakers will want him and they’re the best bet for a reason, but the chances of him still being available for their second-round pick at No.55 are slim so there’s a chance for someone else to step in instead.
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If Bronny isn’t going to end up in LA with his dad, then they could end up playing together in Phoenix, Arizona if reports are to be believed.
The franchise has never won an NBA championship and currently have a core of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal, but they crashed out of the playoffs early this time around in a disappointing outing.
If they were able to bring LeBron to the roster, it would need two big things to go their way.
Firstly he would need to agree to sign on a veteran’s minimum contract for the season to fit into their wage cap, and then Phoenix would have to pick Bronny as their first-round pick at No.22, despite the likelihood that nobody will pick him before that.
But they’d also need to convince LeBron to move there to play despite their lack of success recently. With that said, the price on the James father-son duo moving to the Suns has dropped drastically in recent weeks.
At +200 there isn’t much value anymore, but it seems like the most likely alternative to Los Angeles if they’re not planning to stay put where they are.
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If LeBron and Bronny dance a change of scenery without going too far, it can’t be ignored that there is another team in Los Angeles that could potentially make a play for the pair.
A star-studded lineup including Russell Westbrook, James Harden and Kawhi Leonard could provide all the help that LeBron needs to claim another NBA championship to his resumé while also giving Bronny plenty of role models to look up to who can help him round out his game.
With Bronny playing as a guard he may find regular minutes hard to come by playing behind the aforementioned veteran duo, while they also already have Brandon Boston Jr, Bones Hyland, Jordan Miller, Xavier Moon and Norman Powell on their roster as cover.
But LeBron’s name carries such weight that you could be sure the franchise would be willing to despatch of a few of them if necessary to make the deal happen, so it can’t be ruled out.
It would be unexpected, but at +1800 it should be looked at at the very least.