USC Basketball: Bronny James's Agent Told Teams Not To Select Him In NBA Draft

Former USC basketball guard Bronny James was officially drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday at No. 55, as many expected. Though it was long expected that James would end up getting drafted by the Lakers so that he could play alongside his dad LeBron James, other teams were reportedly discouraged from selecting him.

This began before the draft, when only the Phoenix Suns and Lakers held workouts with Bronny though other teams were interested as his agent wanted him to avoid getting drafted and signed to a two-way contract.

On the second day of the 2024 NBA Draft, former Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers said on NBA on ESPN that Bronny's agent, Rich Paul, was calling teams other than the Suns and Lakers are telling them not to draft Bronny. He added that if they did draft Bronny, he would go play in Australia instead.

Bob Myers just said on ESPN that Rich Paul is calling teams and telling them to not draft Bronny James.

Myers said that Paul is telling teams James will go to Australia if they draft him.

Paul has a plan, and it sounds like he's aiming to get his client to a specific team.
— Noah Camras (@noahcamras) June 27, 2024

Bob Myers on ESPN: Bronny James' agent, Rich Paul, is calling teams (not named Lakers or Suns) and saying, "Don't draft Bronny, or else he's playing in Australia."

The NBA is so interesting. This wouldn't fly in the NFL.pic.twitter.com/UNFP7UlwfD
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) June 27, 2024

This is of course not the first time a player has wanted to avoid playing for a certain team, but it's one of the few times a player has strayed from almost every team in the league.

According to these reports, it appears that Bronny and his team ended up in the situation his team wanted, which was getting drafted by the Lakers. Bronny and LeBron will now become the first father-son duo to play in the NBA at the same time, and Bronny will remain in Los Angeles.

More USC: USC Basketball: Boogie Ellis Goes Undrafted, Signs With Western Conference Squad