LeBron James has made it abundantly clear that he wants to play alongside his eldest son, Bronny, in the NBA one day.
Based on the Los Angeles Lakers’ lack of future draft picks and general tradable assets, plus their overall roster composition, it’s hard to see how that happens in L.A.
LeBron is currently in contract extension negotiations with the Lakers. Up to this point, he has signaled that there is really only one condition under which he would be willing to ditch the purple and gold.
Recently an Eastern Conference executive spoke with NBA insider Sean Deveney and revealed the one team that could be a legit suitor for both LeBron and Bronny.
“The two things that would worry me if I was the Lakers are the Cavaliers and Bronny,” the exec said. “He wants to play with Bronny and he has said he will go and do that when the chance comes.
“He never said he would do it in Bronny’s rookie season, but if he decides he wants to do that in 2024, then LeBron’s only signing for one more year and he’ll take a minimum somewhere to play with his son. But there’s variables there too, like is Bronny definitely going to be one-and-done?
“And there’s the Cleveland thing. The Cavs could get themselves into position to get Bronny, and sign LeBron all at once in 2024. That’s a home-run move for that team. They’re going to keep that in the back of their heads, no matter what they do in the next couple of years. So the Lakers’ window here, it’s really small.”
LeBron has been pretty open about the fact that there is really only one way he will return back to Cleveland. But the allure of playing alongside Bronny will undoubtedly be strong.
Bronny is rapidly approaching college, and there are a number of eager suitors willing to offer him a slot. Between four old-school power houses and one new dark horse, the youngster has no shortage of options.
But wherever he decides to go — he needs to perform at a high level. Because all this chatter about a LeBron-Bronny team-up hinges on him actually being a strong enough player to make the NBA.
If he becomes another Shareef O’Neal, it will make the situation much messier.
Will LeBron and Bronny be able to team up at the pro level one day the way they clearly want to?
Time will tell.
