NBA Rumors: Los Angeles Lakers expected to select Bronny James in 2024 NBA Draft

NBA Rumors: There appears to be a growing sense that the Los Angeles Lakers are going to select Bronny James with one of their two picks in the 2024 NBA Draft.

A little more than two weeks until the 2024 NBA Draft, there are continued rumblings that there could already be a landing spot for one of the most polarizing draft prospects Bronny James. According to a recent report, the Los Angeles Lakers are widely expected to select Bronny with one of their two draft picks if he falls to them. Heading into the NBA Draft, the Lakers own the 17th overall pick and the 55th overall selection.

There's a growing belief that the Lakers will use one of those two picks to take Bronny if he's still available. If that does end up happening, it could create an interesting dynamic between LeBron James, Bronny, and the Lakers heading into next season.

Bronny James as an NBA Draft prospect

It'll be interesting to see how Bronny translates to the league early on. From a pure prospect breakdown perspective, it's hard to envision him even making a team with how inexperienced and raw he seems to be. However, there is some context that could be added here. For one, we don't know how good or bad his individual workouts could be going with the Lakers and Suns. He didn't blow scouts away at the NBA Draft Combine, but he also wasn't terrible. He actually moved up draft boards with his performance.

Additionally, it's hard to judge him only based on the limited action he saw during his freshman season at USC. For one, the fit wasn't a great one. That much was evident when Bronny entered the transfer portal. Even if he did decide to return to college, he wasn't going to play for USC. He may not have been placed in the best positions to success with the Trojans.

In addition, his medical situation from last summer put him at a disadvantage heading into his freshman season. His entire basketball experience at USC was thrown off because he was trying to work his way back from a serious health issue.

All of that has to be understood before disqualifying Bronny because he wasn't productive or because he didn't play a big role during his freshman season at USC.

Even with that, there's still no guarantee that he's an NBA player. He'll get a shot because of his father, but he'll still have to prove his worth as a prospect. No matter where he's taken, that will be the case. And if he does end up on the Lakers, it'll be interesting to see it all play out.