The Los Angeles Lakers intend to give a guaranteed, multiyear contract to second-round pick Bronny James, per Shams Charania of The Athletic.
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James, the son of Lakers legend LeBron James, was selected with the No. 55 overall pick, three picks before the draft ended. LeBron and Bronny will become the first father-son duo to play together in the NBA, assuming LeBron re-signs after opting out.
Without a doubt, LeBron will do just that, just to a new and potentially larger contract. Reports suggest he is willing to take a pay cut to help LA add another high-level starter.
Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks for USC this season while shooting 36.6% from the field, 26.7% from beyond the arc and 67.6% from the free-throw line. So the numbers were low, but in fairness, he overcame a heart scare before the beginning of the season.
He also played well in the second scrimmage in Chicago at the NBA Combine, finishing with 13 points in 23 minutes while shooting 4-of-10 from beyond the arc.
Along with that, he fared very well in the 3-point shooting drill, going 19-of-25 from deep.
The Lakers just recently hired JJ Redick as coach and selected former Tennessee star wing Dalton Knecht with the No. 17 overall pick.
Star big man Anthony Davis said he is looking forward to having Bronny on the team.
"He's very good defensively," Davis told Dave McMenamin of ESPN. "He can read the floor very well. I think he's a really good playmaker. I saw him work out a couple times besides the [Klutch Sports] pro day and working with a big — his reads, reading the defense, making the right passes — that was really impressive to me. I think he's going to be fine, man. Obviously it's a lot of pressure on him with his dad being who he is.
"But one thing about Bronny, from what I've seen and what I heard, he wants to create his own path and he doesn't want to be — even though he's LeBron James' son, he don't want be seen as that. And I think having that mindset and trying to create his own path is going to work out for him. ... Who knows, he might come in and be ready to play for us."
(This story was originally posted on Hoops Wire and republished with permission)
