In 21 years in the NBA, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James has accomplished basically everything he possibly could in his basketball career. There does remain one goal for him that he has been very open about wanting to do and that is to share the court with his son Bronny James.
Bronny is currently a freshman at USC and could enter the 2024 NBA Draft if he chooses to after the season. Meanwhile, LeBron has a player option on his contract with the Lakers which, if he chooses to decline, would make him an unrestricted free agent this summer free to sign with any team.
That player option is worth $51.4 million, however, an extremely large number that would be hard to turn down for anyone, even someone who has made as much money as James. But according to NBA reporter Marc Stein, there are at least a couple of teams who believe that LeBron could opt-out and sign for far less just for the opportunity to play with Bronny:
What happens if Bronny James is drafted in June? LeBron’s 19-year-old son, in the midst of his freshman season at USC, has not yet announced whether he plans to enter the 2024 NBA Draft or play another season at the collegiate level. But if Bronny does choose to enter the June draft and if he’s selected somewhere in Round 2, as would almost certainly happen in a worst-case scenario, how does Dad react?
I know of at least two teams on the NBA map that believe LeBron James would consider signing with them at far less than $51.4 million if Bronny James is on the roster. There might be more.
There are a lot of variables at play here, not the least of which is whether Bronny would even be selected if he chose to enter the draft. He has appeared in 16 games at USC this season and is averaging 5.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists in 20.8 minutes per game while shooting just 35.6% from the field and 27.1% from 3-point range. He may be better served with another year in college to develop and improve.
It should also be noted that LeBron has recently spoken about just wanting to be on an NBA court with Bronny, and not necessarily needing to be on the same team. Surely he would love to be teammates with his son, but it now sounds as if it isn’t an absolute necessity for the Lakers star.
One thing that is for sure is that this could have massive ripple effects on the Lakers and the NBA as a whole as LeBron could very well make a major move for the chance to play with Bronny wherever he lands.
LeBron James: Lakers season has come down to health
For now, LeBron James is focused on the current Lakers and getting this season back on track. The team has seen a number of role players be in and out of the lineup due to injury and LeBron believes that has defined this entire season.
“Just health. Max went down today, didn’t return to the game. Our whole year has been about health.”
Max Christie was hurt during the Lakers’ contest against the Denver Nuggets and the Lakers are now without him, Cam Reddish, Gabe Vincent and Jarred Vanderbilt, all of whom could make a huge difference in the success of the team.
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