After completing his first season with USC, Bronny James recently declared for the 2024 NBA draft. His season was cut short after an unfortunate cardiac arrest, following which he hasn’t been able to bring his A-game to the floor. Many consider Bronny a potential draft bust, some even contending the USC Freshman to go undrafted this year.
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However, Gilbert Arenas still believes that Bronny has the potential to be a first-round pick despite not being a favorite for the upcoming draft. Besides declaring for the draft, he can also enter the NCAA’s transfer portal after spending one year at USC.
Unwilling to write off Bronny just yet, Arenas remarked on ‘Gil’s Arena’ show,
“With Bronny, go through the process, see what it is like. If there’s 17 teams you’re going to try, go and see what it is, you might f**k around and do some sh*t. And one of them motherf**kers might be stupid and say, ‘Hey, you know we got the 17th pick and we’ll pick you.”
Arenas added that Bronny is just trying to level all of his chances, going into the draft combine and trying to maintain all possibilities of returning to college in case he goes undrafted. In the 25 games he has appeared for USC this season, Bronny averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists, per game, averaging 19.4 minutes of floor time.
Many experts believe Bronny needs sufficient experience to develop as a professional in the NBA. As his health condition derailed his chances in college, the 19-year-old could learn more by going in for a second year.
However, many teams are also awaiting the opportunity to acquire LeBron James if they were to draft Bronny into their team in the upcoming draft.
Simmons believes the 76ers have the best odds of drafting Bronny James
Bill Simmons agrees that Bronny James needs more time before he is ready to be a professional athlete in the NBA. However, he added that Bronny could be drafted, even as a second-round pick solely for teams vying to acquire LeBron James for their roster. After assessing Fan Duel’s odds for teams picking Bronny, Simmons concluded that Philadelphia’s 17 to 1 chance of picking Bronny could be the ideal one.
If the Sixers select Bronny after pick 40, they have a 7% chance of ending up with a rotational player. Given the $100 million cap space advantage that the Sixers currently possess, the team could convince James and Bronny to join their team. Alongside players such as Tyrese Maxey, James, and Bronny could perhaps be a good fit for the 76ers for the upcoming season.
