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Bronny James' agent, Rich Paul, is reportedly calling NBA teams and demanding they not draft his client, ESPN analyst and former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Meyers reported during the second-round of the 2024 NBA Draft Thursday (June 27).
Meyers claimed that Paul, who also represents Bronny's father, Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, is reportedly threatening that his client will play in Australia to the teams he contacted.
Many have speculated that James would be targeted by his father's team as LeBron has an option to opt out of the final year of his contract with the Lakers this offseason. Last month, ESPN's Brian Windhorst, who covered the elder James' high school career at St. Vincent-St. Mary Catholic, as well as a beat writer during his stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, said he expected the 39-year-old would opt out of his $51.4 million player option for the 2024-25 season.
Bronny had a strong showing in the pre-draft process recently, despite averaging just 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists during his lone collegiate season, which was delayed after he suffered cardiac arrest in January. The 19-year-old rated as a five-star prospect and ranks as the No. 5 combo guard, No. 4 player from the state of California and No. 22 overall prospect for the 2023 national recruiting cycle, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.